The Living Games
by MiraculousDemiHunters
Summary: All Aubrey wanted was to enjoy District Twelve's peacefulness. With her sister being reaped, peace wasn't on her side. Then Aubrey herself was reaped, along with her best friend. It sure seemed like she would never catch a break. District Twelve is sure to have an interesting few years with these girls around. Oh, but there is so much more to it. District Twelve's first Victors.
1. Chapter One

**The Living Games**

 **A/N So this is my first time writing a story that does not have Katniss or Peeta's point of view in it, and the 74th Hunger Games aren't in the point of view of someone who knows what's going on like we do. *Hint hint*. You might notice that this is different from my other stories, because it is. I'm trying to write better, so let me know if I succeed! Now, if you have any complaints, if my grammar's weird , or if you don't like how long or short it is, anything really, please let me know. Also, this story starts off a bit serious, but that goes away when the dialogue starts ;) PLEASE ENJOY THIS STORY! *CURSE WORDS BEWARE***

 **Also, in case you are wondering, this is only rated T for fluff, because I can't resist it, death, you know, it's the hunger games, people are gonna die, cursing, which you already know, maybe some suggestiveness, like teasing and joking around, and . . . yah, that's pretty much it. There are some mentions of alcoholism, so if that makes you uncomfortable I won't be offended if you leave. There's no M stuff here, since it _is_ rated T.**

 **Chapter One: The Beginning**

This was the end of the worst time for District 12 . . . Winter. Kids dropping like flies from the cold, having only the coal stuck in the boots from working in the coal mines to use for fires, and having very little meat brought in from the hunters, since most of the animals were hibernating, and the Peacekeepers—Let's not even start on the Peacekeepers. They were keeping an extremely close eye on them. Times in District 12 got so bad, that some people wished they were chosen for the hunger games so they could die in less pain and agony. The Hunger Games was a survival 'game', or a punishment for something that is very irrelevant. 41 years ago, 13 Districts rebelled, and 12 made it out of the rebellion alive, but not living. They were forced to send two tributes during the Reaping, a poll of some sorts, to fight to the death. There was only 1 Victor (survivor). The Victor would be bathed in riches and never want for anything ever again, except for their sanity back. Being a Victor meant having nightmares about allies you were close to, or the people who you brutally murdered. Victors lived in their own part of the District, called the Victors Village, where their nightmares become reality. At the time, refusing to do what was asked of you lead to you being killed. Of course, they had changed it later on, but why kill your family, when you can be killed just as easily?

Even the wealthiest of the merchants barely scraped by. The Seam had been secretly named _The Graveyard_ because so many kids died each day. So many that only halves of classes would show up. It wasn't helping much that you could get whipped for looking directly at a Peacekeeper, but it was better to get whipped in the winter. If your family could get you to the apothecary before it was too late, they would have better supplies since they stock up for winter. But with the strict Peacekeepers, some people didn't dare leave their homes. They would send another family member to take the whipped person to the apothecary. They're known as _Insiders_. It's a dumb name, but it's all the stupid, gossipy girls from the merchant class could come up with.

The other seasons in District 12 weren't bad. Enjoyable, actually. The Peacekeepers would soften a little, although they still gave out the occasional whipping. The Capital would need extra Peacekeepers for the more rebellious districts, such as District 11. Things got so bad in District 11, that they couldn't leave their houses for a week. Which, of course, lead to more deaths, which meant they had to make more children. The more for the Games the merrier! On top of that, the other districts would get scared. District 12 is apparently not an important district. President Snow didn't worry about the districts with no chance of rebellion. There was talk in the mines once, but all of the miners from that shift mysteriously disappeared, and there had been no talk since then. The only problem with that, was that there was only talk, and no action. Just a group of angry miners, who once they went above ground would forget all of their anger. They had families to worry about.

With the Victors' Village as vacant as the good in President Snow's soul, District 12 was the embarrassment District. Just because they didn't train like the overly proud Districts (1, 2, and 4) it meant they were just a useless, but necessary district. No use in bombing off another sad district and wasting resources, especially one as inferior as District 12! The people in the Capitol are probably laughing at them right now. Along with District 6. The Morphling smugglers, as people (those bitchy Merchants) called them. As if they even know what Morphling is.

Luckily in District Twelve, it was just turning spring, fortunately for the Merchants who made their money by selling goods that were available in the spring, summer, and fall. Even though Aubrey Oric was a Merchant, she sure hated those gossipy girls. They somehow knew everything. If you dated anyone, they knew. If you had your first kiss, they knew. If you took a shit, they knew. Aubrey was the poorest Merchant in Town. Sometimes (most of the time), she didn't know how she made it into the Merchant class. The only reason she was a merchant is because her family owned a shoe washing business. They only got a lot of customers during the summer and the fall, so they weren't doing so well right now.

Anyway, she was an outsider with the Merchants. She was blond and blue eyed, but that's all she had similar to the Merchants. While their blonde hair was often long, curly, and decorated with pretty bows and ribbons, her hair was straight and flat, and it barely skimmed the end of her shoulder. Some people in the Seam had better hair than her, and they could barely feed themselves! She did have one thing the other Merchants didn't have. The bluest eyes anyone had ever seen. They weren't a pale blue, but they were full of color. All of the other Merchants were jealous, but they'd never admit it. She was also different in the way of her sexuality. She was a hidden bisexual. Most people in Panem didn't support same-sex _anything_ , though the Seam was more open and accepting about it than the Merchants. Unlike all of the other Merchants, she didn't think of the Seam as scum, like they were just dirt on the bottom of their shoes. Aubrey thought they were brave. They went into the woods (those who were desperate, or brave enough) knowing they might not come out again. Knowing that they could be whipped, or, more likely, killed. She always wanted to see the woods. She was never brave enough, though. One time she came close to it, but a woman picking apples quickly, as if in a second the Capital would come or something, told her to go home and walked her to the end of the Seam. She left her apples (which she had to if she didn't want to get whipped), which could have easily gotten stolen in their poor, starving district, and risked being seen with a poor Merchant just to walk her home.

Most Seam people hate the Merchants because they were rich, while they were not, but her family was kind of a joke. Everyone laughed when she walked down the halls, and the bigger kids would take her lunch, or make fun of her until she cried. Today was one of those days. Being only 14, she was younger than the others she went to school with. Being a rich Merchant also meant no one would mess with you. They were too afraid of being tracked down by angry Merchant fathers, who would take away money, or get them whipped by Peacekeepers. Since her family was not rich, they had no power. No one was scared of her dad. He spent what little money they had on alcohol, getting drunk until Aubrey's mother had to take him to the apothecary.

That day, the 18 year old Merchants teased her and teased her until she was red in the face and had tears streaming down her cheeks. Even the Merchant she had had a tiny crush on hadn't done anything to help. She ran from the school, since no one in her family would care. Her father was dead to the world, and her mother was to busy trying to keep him alive, and tending to 2 other kids.

Aubrey ran to the District fence, not bothering to check if the one minute of electricity they had was on, and ran. This time, there was no woman with apples there to lead her away. She ran, and ran, until she couldn't tell where she was anymore. She stopped at a tree that was providing shade and cried. She wasn't afraid like the rest of the Merchants. She wasn't even thinking about the woods. She was thinking about the things The people at school had said. Oh, the awful things they called her. Stupid. Poor. Whore. Those stupid ass bitchy Merchants started a nasty rumor that she fucked rich, old town men to stay in the Merchant class. By then, she had wanted to rip out their blonde ponytails and shove them down their pale throats, but she had pulled a girl named Payton's ponytail and gotten in trouble. She had gotten fined by the girls dad, and had to stay home for a week, being piled up with work when she went back to school. That was the only time anger like that consumed her. It was only a month ago. Her mother had thought she was sick, not knowing what went on.

By this point, Aubrey was slamming her fists on a tree and screaming. How life was unfair. All she wanted was to have money. She wanted to be a Victor. Little did she know, the Victors wanted to be her, but she didn't realize it. They had money, and power. Everything she didn't. She wanted life to be fair. What she also didn't know, was that the Victors would kill (have killed) for her life. Every time she said it wasn't fair, her mother would say, _At least were not living in the Seam_. She would always storm upstairs and say, _yes mother,_ until last week, when she muttered _not yet_ under her breath. Her mother gave her a dirty look and Aubrey rolled her eyes and gave her a look that said, _you know I'm right_ , and went off to brush her short hair. She didn't bother with homework. Sure, she did work in school (barely), but that was it. Why do extra work when nobody cares? You didn't need to know what a function was to wash shoes.

Just as Aubrey was about to make a hole in the tree, a strong, olive hand grabbed her arms.

"What are you doing? Trying to get us all killed? Be quiet!"

She turned to the voice, and saw a dark haired boy, with olive skin matching his hands. When she turned around, he raised an eyebrow. You wouldn't be able to tell she was a Merchant, with her poorly made made clothes, and her hair tucked under a hat she was given from someone out of pity. She hadn't wanted it, but her mother told her not to be stupid, as if she was the one that needed to be reminded. She was married to a drunk who couldn't even see half of the time because he was so drunk!

"Why are you here? Don't you have school to be at?" the boy asked. He looked to be about 16.

"Don't you have school to be at?" Aubrey shot back at him.

All she got was another raise of an eyebrow and a one word answer.

"No."

"But you're 16," she argued. _He must go to school_ , Aubrey thought. _It doesn't look like he works in the mines since he's underage, and he's definitely not a Merchant. Not with muscles like that . . ._

"I'm providing for my family. And I'm 15. " Aubrey must have had her mouth wide open, and her jaw must have hit the ground, because he laughed. "And how old are you? I'm guessing 12? 13? Why would your mother let you out here alone, or at all?"

Aubrey glared at the 15 year old and mumbled, "I'm 14," under her breath loud enough for him to hear. She knew he was joking, but she was still annoyed.

The boy burst out laughing. "Right. Well, I'm Zane, by the way." He stuck out his hand.

"Zane?" Aubrey shook it. "That sounds normal for a Seam name. No offence. Like I have room to talk about the Seam like that."

Zane gave her an odd look. "My great grandfather was a Merchant back before and during the dark days. We lost all of our money and had to move to the Seam."

Aubrey laughed. "Well, lucky you. I keep wondering how I'm not in the Seam yet." This time, Zane said something.

"W . . . What? But you're from Town, you're that girl who owns that shoe shop. Why would you . . ." he paused for a second. "Is it because of the rumors?"

"You mean you don't believe them?" she raised an eyebrow.

The boy gave her a look.

"No. Should I?"

She eyed him for a moment.

"No," she said, kind of hesitant. "But people usually believe everything the Merchant girls say."

"Well, it sounds so stupid. I would just accept it and move to the Seam. So, why wouldn't you?"

Aubrey tilted her head.

"Plus, you kinda look like you're not all the way straight. And they never said anything about girls so . . ."

"You know, I'm starting to like you."

"Really?" he wagged his eyebrows.

She glared at him.

"Not like that, you idiot."

Zane laughed, and Aubrey grudgingly admitted that she was really intrigued by him.

"So, you got a last name or . . .?" she trailed off.

"I do, but I prefer not to share it with random strangers that I meet in the woods."

She held up her hands. "Touché."

Zane looked at her curiously.

"You know, you never told me why you were here."

Aubrey sucked in a deep breath.

"Er . . . I prefer not to tell it to random strangers that I meet in the woods?" she said sheepishly.

"Ha, ha." Zane took her hand and made her sit next to him. "Now, what's the real reason? I have a guess, but I'd rather let you tell."

"Well," she started timidly. "There are these awful bullies in school. You know, those older Merchants? The rich ones? Yeah, them. Today wasn't a good day. Their teasing got a little harsh. So I left. And I ended up here. And . . . yeah."

Zane nodded his head.

"I figured as much."

"But you still asked?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I wanted _you_ to tell me, you idiot."

Aubrey scowled. "Um, I am _not_ the idiot. _You're_ the idiot."

"My idiot senses say otherwise."

She snorted.

"It must be malfunctioning from so much idiot coming from you."

Zane glared at her.

"Oh, ha, ha."

Aubrey smiled for a bit and then realized something.

"Hey, you never told me why you were in the woods and not at school."

He snorted.

"I hunt. Duh."

Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"I didn't expect you to answer so honestly. What if I was here to kill you?"

"I think you just made it clear you aren't. And you've already seen me here. What else would I be doing?"

"Taking a leak?" she suggested.

Zane laughed.

"I can assure you that is _not_ why I'm here, my toilet works just fine. As to why I wasn't at school, well, hunting never waits. And we had a test today that I didn't study for, and my mother thought I was only skipping school to hunt, so how could I pass up the opportunity?"

Aubrey shook her head.

"You are just something else."

"So I've been told."

Aubrey sighed and lied her head on his shoulder.

Yeah, yeah, _stranger danger_ and all, but she felt like she could trust him for some reason.

After a few minutes, she looked up to see the sky darkening considerably.

"Well, I better go before anyone realizes I'm gone. School is way over by now, and my mom might notice that the floor is still dirty."

Zane raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Ditto. I need to get my stuff and go home before anything comes after me."

Aubrey leaped up and stretched. She looked down and noticed Zane was still there.

"Well? Go get your stuff and meet me back here."

He jumped up and saluted.

"Yes ma'am."

Aubrey hummed for a bit while she waited, then abruptly stopped when she realized what she was doing. Then she started again because _why not?_

Zane came back a few minutes later, sporting a hunting bag and some rope.

"Okay, let's go."

They walked towards the fence, exchanging playful insults along the way.

"If I'm the princess of idiots, then you must be the king."

"Wouldn't that make me your dad?"

She thought about it for a second then shuddered.

"Ugh . . . just the thought of being related to you is sickening."

"I'm honored to have such high regards from you."

When they finally reached the fence, Aubrey felt herself feeling kind of sad. This stranger had made her feel more happy than she had felt in a long time.

"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye," Zane said, biting his lip.

Aubrey laughed kind of sadly.

"Yeah. But I'm sure you'll see me again. Maybe I'd even meet you here tomorrow." she slid in a tiny suggestion.

Zane smiled at her.

"I'd like that. I want to get to know you more. You seem . . . well, interesting. I like interesting people."

Aubrey smiled at him, then made a split second decision.

She threw her arms around his chest and hugged him for a second.

"See you tomorrow," she whispered against his chest.

She turned around and walked away, sneaking one glance at him and his shining grey eyes.


	2. Chapter Two

**The Living Games**

 **A/N How did you like the other chapter? Reviews are always welcome, of course. *CURSE WORDS BEWARE* Enjoy.**

 **Btw, I'm not sure if anyone reads this, but I guess there is some minor bullying in the beginning of this chapter. If this bothers you, just skip down until you see the authors note.**

 ***Edit: So, I've decided to slow down the Zaubrey in these chapters, just because I feel like it's been happening too soon. They will not be the normal gushy, lovey-dovey type of couple, more like the type to exchange insults but still be able to love each other. But look out for the Zaubrey though :) I've also decided to push the Reaping back a bit, just so it matches the timeline of the original story more.**

 **Chapter Two: What Is Love? (Baby, don't hurt me ;)**

Aubrey was lying in her bed at home, thinking. Her bed was more like a long piece of cloth and hay on the floor next to her two sisters, but she was still okay with it. She kept thinking about how the day started (horrible, to put it lightly), and how it ended. She wished she could go back in time and live in one moment forever. It was the first time in a while that she had felt genuinely happy. The first time she had felt like she belonged.

This was the second time in a row that she couldn't get what happened at school off her mind.

 _Aubrey walked through the halls after the bell that announced the end of the day sounded. Really, the bell was just a teacher banging a metal stick against a metal plate, but it was all they had. Aubrey couldn't wait to get home. She would get to see Zane, the boy she met in the woods, again. She was kind of excited, but there was no_ way _she'd admit it. She rounded the corner and saw her worst nightmare. A whole group of 18 year-olds. There must have been at least 20. There were mostly Merchants, with only about 5 people from the Seam. The Seam kids were in their own little group, away from the Merchants. Aubrey blew out a breath, slowed down, and tried not to look too scared at what she knew was coming._

 _"Hey, look. It's the little whore. How many guys did you screw today?"_ _h_ _er usual torturer, Bronc, asked her._

 _"N . . . None." Aubrey was angry, yeah she was really pissed, but her fear won out and she was stumbling like a 3 year old. She wasn't known for being the angry person that people feared._

 _"Ha. So you only do it after school. Nice to know." The whole group of eighteen-year-old Merchants laughed even though the joke wasn't funny, and most of the Seam kids smiled, except for one special grey eyed, olive skinned boy._

 _"See? Your own people know it's the truth." They all laughed again when he pointed at the Seam group, but no one in their group was laughing anymore, since Bronc just insulted them._

 _Bronc walked towards her and slapped her books to the ground. When Aubrey bent over to pick them up, Bronc stood behind her._

 _"Hmm. I guess this position is a little too familiar for you, right?" Aubrey turned red because she was embarrassed, and because she was mad. She guessed it_ was _her fault because she could've picked up her books without bending over. She was just about to turn around and do who knows what when she heard a voice._

 _"Now_ _,_ _that's enough."_

 _She guessed Bronc was being pulled from behind her, and stood up straight. When she looked up, she saw Zane, holding onto Bronc's arm so tightly, it started to look paler from the lack of blood._

 _"Ooh. A Seam boy. Did she screw you too?" Bronc asked. Zane twisted his right arm behind his back, while grabbing the left arm and making it join the right one. Bronc's yelp of pain was heard throughout the whole hallway._

 _Aubrey was automatically scared for Zane. There was no way Bronc would let his actions go unpaid for, and Zane would surely have to pay a large fine. While she was grateful that he came to her defense, she was worried for him an his family. Zane had a look of hate in his eyes, but when he looked at Aubrey, his grey eyes changed to a softer grey. Zane was younger than Bronc, but he had bigger muscles and was a few inches over his height._

 _"Zane," Aubrey said in a slow, calculating voice_ _,_ _forgetting all about not talking to him during school. "Let him go. Please?" she stuck out her bottom lip out and made puppy dog eyes that she learned to do when she really wanted to get out of trouble._

 _Zane looked at her like she had two heads. "But . . . But he just . . ." Zane trailed off, not knowing how to go on._

 _"Yeah. I know."_

If that little shit ever tries to do that again, I'm going to snap his fucking neck _, Aubrey promised herself._

 _Her face must have showed some of what she was thinking, because Zane let Bronc go, grabbed her by the arm, and softly yanked her down the hall and out the door. Zane threw her over his shoulder and ran._

 _Aubrey didn't know where they were going, but it didn't really matter since school was already out. Aubrey forgot about what just happened for a moment, and giggled. It was just a little, soft giggle at first, then it turned into a hysterical laugh, and soon, she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. She knew what happened shouldn't be funny, but the look of pure terror on Bronc's face just irked something in her. Hunted. Bronc knew what it felt like to be hunted, and not to be the hunter this time._

 ** _( A/N Hey, if you skipped the first part, nothing really happened. It just started with Aubrey laying in her bed, then she went into a flashback of the school day, with Zane defending Aubrey from Bronc and carrying her to the woods on his shoulder :)_**

 _Aubrey's laughter died down when she noticed that they were in the woods, and she was on the ground. Zane was standing over her, looking half scared, and half annoyed._

 _"What's so funny?" Zane asked her._

 _"I don't know. I . . . don't . . . know." Aubrey paused in-between her words to take deep breaths. "I don't know." Reality finally reared it's ugly head, and she realized what happened was not acceptable._

 _"Zane. Why? Why did you do that? You know that the Seam and the Town people don't mix." Zane sat down beside her, with his legs straight out. Aubrey sat up, anticipating his response._

 _"I . . . I don't know. I just felt the need to protect you. I wasn't about to sit there and let that guy talk to you like that, and do those things to you!" Zane sounded angry and like he was about to cry at the same time._

 _"Well then you do know why you did that. It was sweet, and very brave of you, but think about what your life will be tomorrow. You're only 15," Aubrey pointed out, talking softer._

 _"Yeah, and you're only 14," Zane said. "He looked so scared today, I doubt he'll ever touch you, or me again. I made sure of that."_

Yeah, and you'll probably get fined _, Aubrey thought bitterly._

 _"You know," Aubrey started out. She scooted closer to him, and rested her head against his shoulder. She gave him a look as if asking, is this alright? He gave her a nod before she put her head back down. "That was the most awesome thing ever. You're like, amazing. Like, ugh. I sound like those Merchant girls who say like every other word." They both laughed. "How, like, was, like, your, like, like, dinner?"_

 _They both laughed again._

 _"That's what Payton sounds like," Zane pointed out._

 _"No! Really? Who would have ever guessed? Duh!" Aubrey smacked his forehead with the palm of her hand and giggled._

 _Zane sighed. "I know we should be worrying, but we can't change the past, so why worry about it? I just want to lie here all day and get to know you." He kissed her forehead._

 _And that's exactly what they did. They sat there and talked until it was so dark, they almost got lost when going home. They laughed so many times, and so hard, that they looked like maniacs if anyone had seen them. But Aubrey didn't care. When they reached the fence, Aubrey hugged Zane close to her. Her arms were around his neck, and his arms were around her waist, her face buried in his neck._

 _"I'm going to really miss you. And I am_ not _saying that again, so you better have heard me." Aubrey said. She'd never really had a friend before, and she found herself drifting closer to Zane, and not wanting to leave him. Being with him was much more exciting than going back to her house. Maybe she was being clingy. Maybe she we was acting delirious. She did just meet this boy. But he was worming his way through her walls._

 _Zane chuckled. "What did you say?"_

 _Aubrey flicked his neck._

 _"Kidding. But I'll miss you too. Will you . . . you know?"_

 _"Meet me here tomorrow?" Aubrey finished for him._

 _Zane smiled. "Yeah," he kissed her forehead, and let go of her._

Aubrey didn't know she was giggling (which she never did) until her older sister, who was 16, jabbed her in the stomach. "Be quiet, will ya'? I'm trying to sleep."

Aubrey nodded her head, but she still couldn't stop smiling.

"What's wrong with you? You're smiling like you just met the love of your life."

Aubrey just curled into a little ball, hugging her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her self. "Oh, stop," she whispered.

"Did you? Really?" her younger sister, who was 10, asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't love him, but he's amazing. He's sweet, brave, nice, charming . . ." Aubrey trailed off, too stuck in her fantasy.

"Who could that possibly be? No Merchant would ever date you after that rumor spread around like the flu during Winter. Their loss anyway. So it must be a . . . no way." Her older sister looked at her in disbelief. "Is it . . . a Seam boy?" she whispered to Aubrey.

"Yes," Aubrey whispered back, in dream-like voice. "He's not like any Seam boy I've ever met. He doesn't hate Merchants, and he stuck up for me today. He's starting to grow on me."

Her sister sighed, then smirked. "Of course, it would be you to fall in love with a Seam boy." Her sisters didn't think of the Seam as scum either. "But if you really do love him, then don't tell mom. She'll freak." Unlike them, their mom hated the Seam.

"Um, I literally just met him two days ago. What do you mean love?"

They all giggled.

"Do you look at him like mommy looks at daddy?" her little sister asked.

"Oh, I hope not." They all burst out laughing, only to be shushed my their mother, who just walked in.

As they all settled into sleep that night, Aubrey started to wonder if meeting Zane was the beginning of a friendship, or if it would end in flames.

 **• • •**

Aubrey was very, very happy that day. She spent most of it with Zane. He still had to hunt for his family, so she didn't see him that much the next week. True to Zane's word, Bronc left her alone. She knew it was only temporary, but that didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy it.

When the weekend pulled around again, she was excited. She had spent the last week getting to know Zane, and she just wanted to see him. Did she mention she was excited? Aubrey was so happy, that it almost seemed like it was a crime. Today, she would get a whole day to spend with Zane. A whole day! She walked calmly to meet him in the woods, even though she wanted to skip through the streets and scream at the top of her lungs. While walking through the square, she noticed Payton glaring at her. With her newfound confidence mixed with her happiness, she just smiled at the girl and moved on. When she reached the fence, she noticed the soft buzz. It was on. She waited the one minute until it turned off, and slipped under the fence. She almost jumped for joy when she saw Zane waiting under the tree. She smiled so wide, it almost reached her ears.

Aubrey was a happy bubbly mess, but she somehow manged to squeak out a little, "Hi."

"Hey. You seem nervous. Everything alright?" Zane asked her.

"No, I'm not nervous. Just excited," Aubrey replied smoothly, to her surprise. "I haven't seen you much and I've got a whole day to spend with you. A whole day!" Zane smiled and hugged her. He put his lips close to her ear and whispered, "I know we only met a few days ago, but is it bad that I'm about as excited as you are?"

Aubrey felt her legs wobble when he let her go. She realized couple of days ago that Zane was more than just some guy to her. She didn't know to what extent. Did she like him as a best friend? Did she like him as a . . . boyfriend? Did she like him as in she would die for him? All she knew right now, was that she liked this boy (not like she'd ever tell him.) She had no friends in school (obviously), and was lacking what a real friendship actually felt like.

"I understand. You're the first real friend . . . no, you're pretty much the only friend I've ever had."

Zane chuckled. "I have a few friends, but I mostly keep to myself. I've never really been a . . . people-person." Aubrey thought differently.

"You talk to me all the time."

"That's different. You're easy to talk to."

Aubrey snorted.

"Tell that to all of my friends."

Zane rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. You're just really fun to talk to, well," he smirked, "when you're not acting crazy. Which is never."

"Bite me."

"Can I?"

Aubrey glared at him and he held up his hands.

"Alright, alright. I'll bite you another day, then."

Before she knew what she was doing, she was hugging him again.

He seem surprised, but he wrapped his arms around her after a moment.

Aubrey took in a deep breath and pulled away.

"Come here," she said, after sitting down with her back against a tree.

Zane smiled warmly and complied.

They sat against the tree and talked for awhile. Once, a spider crawled on Aubrey's arm and she almost knocked Zane's head off trying to get rid of it.

"Okay," he said, rubbing the bump on his head. "You obviously have arachnophobia."

"Shut up," she mumbled. "Spiders are scary and I hate them."

After that, they settled down again, talking and laughing all throughout the day. When it started to get dark, they left the woods and sat in the meadow. No flowers had bloomed yet, but Aubrey found herself excited to see them when they did.

After awhile, they finally had to go home. Zane's mom really didn't care, and Aubrey's parents probably didn't notice, but it was almost twelve A.M., and they had no desire to push their luck.

They hugged each other tightly.

"Oh gosh. Why do I find myself not wanting to leave you?" Aubrey asked, her face against his chest.

"Because I'm so awesome? But you're right. I'm gonna miiiiiiiiiiiiss you." He grabbed Aubrey and started twirling her around.

Aubrey squealed in surprise.

"Zane!" she laughed. "You better not drop me!"

He laughed too, and Aubrey swore his smile lit up the dark meadow.

Wait.

What?

Aubrey had no time to process that thought because Zane had finally put her down.

"Alright, you know the rules. Meet me here tomorrow. Try not to miss me too much."

Aubrey shook her head, smiling brightly.

"Oh, however can I make it through the night without you?" she put a hand against her chest and pretended to swoon.

Zane laughed and winked at her.

"That's the spirit."

He hesitated for a second, then brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I swear, if the sun stops shining, we could use your eyes to keep us warm."

Aubrey didn't know what to say.

"They are very blue," he continued. "They are bluer than the sky, and deeper than the ocean. There is nothing in this world that I can compare them to."

He kissed a very confused Aubrey's cheek, then smiled a bit and walked off.

Aubrey had her mouth wide open, standing there in shock of what just happened.

She stood there until Zane was out of her sight, and then she was finally able to move her legs

As she walked home in the moonlight, she started to wonder what just happened. And why had she gotten a fluttering feeling in her stomach when Zane said that? Why did she wish he had kissed her on her lips instead of her cheek? What the heck was going on with her?


	3. Chapter Three

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hey guys! This chapter will open up some new opportunities, and make things more interesting. Also, the Reaping is coming up in the next chapter, so look out for that! He he, we will have lot's of fun there! It would be a shame if . . . ya know, something were to *cough* happen to Aubrey or her *chokes* family. He he, yes, yes, fun! I guess I'll stop being creepy and let you enjoy the chapter. It's too early to be weird in these A/N. I've always wondered, is it author's note, or authors's note? I should look that up . . . Anyway, enjoy this chapter! And beware of the curse words!**

 **Chapter 3: Fun in Paradise**

Aubrey and Zane were hanging out in the meadow again the next day.

Sure, they could've been in the woods, but some flowers had started to bloom and it looked beautiful.

Aubrey had her head resting on Zane's shoulder, and he had an arm wrapped lazily around her waist.

Aubrey would be lying if she said she wasn't still thinking about what he had said last night.

What did it mean? Did he just think she has beautiful? What was going on?

Aubrey decided not to ask him about it. He'd tell her when he was ready.

Zane sighed suddenly.

"What?" Aubrey lifted her head off of his shoulder to look at him.

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but the Reaping is a week from now, and I was just thinking . . ."

Oh.

The reaping _was_ a week from then.

"Oh. I did forget. I try not to think about it too much. It only makes me anxious and nervous."

Zane's arm tightened around her.

"I wish it didn't. I wish it wouldn't make you feel that way."

He looked almost angry.

"No, it's alright. We still have to go anyway, so feeling any type of way really doesn't matter."

"But it does! We shouldn't have to feel this way, we shouldn't have to die because of something our elders did! I know it, you know it, we all know it, but we can't do anything about it. And it sucks."

Aubrey was taken aback. She had never seen Zane so . . . so mad. He was usually chill and laid back. But Aubrey had to admit that she felt the same way.

"Yeah, it does. But we'll get through it, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Aubrey."

She sighed and tried not to get mad.

"I'm not saying that we'll all be safe and continue to live, I'm _saying_ that no matter what, I've got you. We'll get through it together, no matter who gets picked. Okay?"

He looked a lot calmer.

"Okay."

Aubrey put her head back on his shoulder and rubbed his neck softly.

"I'll stay with you, and I _can_ promise that."

He didn't say anything back, but he relaxed a bit.

A few minutes later, Zane spoke.

"Thanks."

Aubrey raised an eyebrow even though he couldn't see it.

"For what?"

"Saying what you did. I'm lucky to have you."

Aubrey was confused, and her stomach had a weird feeling in it. The same one she had gotten last night.

"W . . . what do you mean?"

He rubbed circles on her waist with his fingers.

"I mean I'm lucky to have you, Aubrey. You're like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. You go out expecting to find _something,_ but what you find is better than anything you could've ever dreamed of."

"Huh?"

Aubrey was still confused.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Aubrey, I'm trying to tell you that you're amazing. Please, just accept the compliment."

Aubrey laughed nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh. Oh, thanks."

Zane laughed, and the sound sent a feeling of happiness towards Aubrey.

"Just never change. Gosh, you make me feel so good inside."

Aubrey didn't know what to say to that, so she just laughed.

"Are you insinuating that I turn you on?"

"Maybe."

"Zane!"

He laughed, and Aubrey swore his eyes lit up like a lightning striking from inside a cloud.

Wait a minute, what?

"Kidding, kidding. But I wuvvv you!"

He nuzzled her neck with his nose and tickled her.

She burst out laughing and couldn't stop.

"Zane! Zane, stop! I swear—"

She started laughing so hard she couldn't even talk anymore.

He finally stopped when she 'accidentally' kicked him in the face.

He glared at her.

"You are so mean."

Aubrey smirked and gave him an innocent look.

"What do you mean? That was a harmless accident. My bad."

He glared at her again.

"You are just . . . I have no words for you."

"Don't worry," she patted his back. "You not talking is a good thing."

He smiled at her until she realized what she had said.

"Hey!"

She laughed and pulled him up with her.

"Come on, last one to that patch of flowers is a loser. Well, you already _are_ a loser, but race ya'!"

She took off running, with Zane running behind her yelling, "So not fair! Cheater!"

Aubrey won by a long shot, and Zane kept insisting that she had cheated.

"I did _not_ cheat!"

"And _I_ didn't eat my brother's dessert last night! Liar, liar! Pants on fire!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"What are you, eight?"

He glared at her.

"Shut up! I may be eight, but at least I tell the truth!"

Aubrey groaned.

"Ugh, whatever."

She lied down on the grass, putting her hands behind her head.

Zane joined her, and they lied down together, watching the sky get darker.

"What time is it?" Aubrey asked, turning to look at him. "How long have we been out here?"

He looked at his watch.

"Uh, it's about seven at night."

"No, I thought it was morning time."

He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

The crickets had come out an hour ago, and their sounds filled up the night air.

Zane's hand suddenly touched hers, and he laced his fingers through hers.

Aubrey smiled a bit and decided to keep it like that.

"Aubrey?"

Aubrey turned her head to look at Zane.

"Yeah?"

He took in a deep breath.

"I just . . . I just want you to know that I think you're perfect, even if no one else does."

Aubrey was touched by his words.

"Oh, thank you. But I'm far from perfection."

He shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure if I looked up _perfection_ in the dictionary, your name will be there."

He didn't sound like he was joking.

"Why . . . why are you telling me all of this?"

He shrugged.

"Because it's true, Aubrey."

Their eyes met, stormy grey on ocean blue, creating the perfect hurricane.

They both leaned forward at the same time, and met each other's lips.

Zane's lips were soft, and they tasted sweet.

Aubrey got that clenching feeling in her stomach again, and she felt . . . happy. She felt relaxed and she didn't want to leave the comfort of Zane's presence.

Zane rested his hand on her face and kissed her deeper.

When they pulled away, Zane smiled so big his face muscles must've hurt.

"I wanted to do that so bad last night. But I think it was better now."

Aubrey didn't reply, she just kissed him again.

She pulled away after a little while and smiled hesitantly at Zane.

She didn't give him a chance to say anything, she just put her head on his chest and thought about what just happened.

They . . . kissed. And she . . . liked it.

Zane was a great guy, a great friend, and she didn't really have much of an argument against her feelings towards him. She didn't really think she would ever get a boyfriend, because she'd always wanted to get a girlfriend so she could go against the unofficial rules.

 _Your kids could get reaped!_

She was well aware of that. She couldn't just live alone for the rest of her life, just to avoid it. That would be letting the Capitol win, and she wouldn't do it. And Zane was kind of hot, but the other thing too.

When they went their separate ways, Aubrey couldn't help but think, _Am I doing the right thing?_

 **• • •**

The rest of the week was weird.

Neither of them talked about the kiss, and things were sorta awkward.

Like . . . when their hands would touch by accident, and they would both blush and stutter.

Aubrey didn't want things to be the way they were, but she didn't know how to approach the situation.

Did she even want to date Zane?

Okay, she did, but there were problems.

He was from the Seam, for one. She had nothing against him, but the Seam and Town kids ever mixed, let alone dated. And her mother wasn't exactly the biggest Seam fan.

Add on the fact that one of them might get reaped, and things suddenly got complicated.

Sure, she didn't want to get reaped, but it would be better than watching someone else she cared about get reaped.

And it didn't even matter, anyway. She was already too deep to not get hurt by Zane. It didn't matter if he was her best friend or her boyfriend, she couldn't stand to see him go.

It wasn't until the reaping was one day away that she finally said something.

"Okay," she said, stopping Zane from walking towards his house. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

She sighed.

"Don't play dumb with me Zane. What are we we doing? What are we?"

"Humans?"

She gritted her teeth.

"I swear to fucking—Zane! What the fuck is our relationship, you dumb ass?! We kissed, and? What are we now?"

He swallowed, looking kind of frightened.

"O—oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"Well, I'm . . . I really like you, but the Reaping is tomorrow. And I don't want you to get reaped. And well, President Snow kind of has something against our family. And us dating will make you a possible target, and I don't want you to get roped into our mess."

"What did you guys do?"

He scratched his neck.

"I'm not sure. Something during the dark days. But . . . my father was lost to the Capitol. He was called for some 'secret mission', and we never saw him again. And I don't want to risk it with you."

Aubrey knew he had a stepfather, but she never knew what happened with his biological father.

"That's . . . I'm sorry. But Zane, I don't care about Snow. I can take care of myself. I'm not going to make myself suffer, or let you protect me just because of some shitty president."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I had a feeling you would say something like that . . . but I'm still not sure—"

"Zane," she cut him off, "I honestly don't give two fucks about whatever President Snow does. He can go shove his grudge against you up his ass for all I care." She took his hands and held them in hers. "I want to be with you. And I won't let him stop us. So you shouldn't either. Do you want to be with me?"

He nodded his head.

"Yes, of course."

"Then don't think about it too much." **( A/N Too much . . .)**

"O—okay. Well, what are we now?"

"Humans," Aubrey deadpanned.

"Oh, ha, ha. You know what I mean."

Aubrey smiled.

"I guess you're my boyfriend now."

He grinned.

"Then that makes you my girlfriend."

"You know, I'm like 70-30, so you'd better be lucky."

"What the heck does that mean?"

"It means I like girls 70%, and I only like boys 30%. Appreciate it."

Aubrey kissed him before he could say anything dumb and ruin the moment.

He smiled against her lips and wrapped her arms around her waist. Aubrey followed his lead and put one hand in his hair, and the other around his neck.

Aubrey felt her stomach flutter, and she pulled back.

"So, boyfriend," she said, looking up at him. "I don't suppose you can stay out a little longer?"

He smiled.

"Only for you."


	4. Chapter Four

**The Living Games**

 **A/N So this was going to be a kind of long chapter, with the Reaping and goodbyes, and all, which are not even that long, but it was 6,000+ words so I cut it in half.**

 ***Insert maniacal laughter.***

 **In the book it says that District twelve only had one other Victor, but it never said whether Katniss met them or not. Katniss was born the same year as the 58th Games, and right now this is the 41st Games and some . . . things are going to happen around the 42nd and 43rd Games, so that leaves 17-15 years to let the Victor die. Unless they don't . . .**

 **I see a bright future for our friend Aubrey.**

 **Also, there is this thing that happens while Zane and Aubrey are in their private place, (The woods) and they are doing this thing that you'll find out about in this chapter, and Zane says something about her not being mad all the time in the Arena, and Aubrey was like, 'oh yeah watch me,' but she says something that will surprise the heck out of you guys when you read a little later on in the story. Something along the lines about how Katniss escaped out of the 75th games but modified . . .**

 **Okay I'll stop dropping bombs and write the actual story.**

 **BEWARE! CURSE WORDS EVEN THOUGH THIS HAS BEEN IN LIKE EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER.**

 **Chapter Four: Goodbyes and A Trip Down Memory Lane**

Aubrey woke up to her mother gently shaking her awake. She thought someone had died, since her mom never treated her this gently. Then she realized that no one died yet, but 23 kids would die in about a week. It was the Reaping, a day where two children, a girl and a boy, would be chosen to participate in The Hunger Games.

She sighed and rolled over, intending on waking up her sisters, only to find them already up and eating breakfast. Aubrey got up sheepishly and went into the bathroom.

She didn't sleep well last night. She couldn't stop thinking about Zane. What he had said. What they were now.

Aubrey shook her head to clear her thoughts. After brushing her teeth and gussying up her hair, Aubrey went out to breakfast. All there was on the table was some very stale bread and dry crackers, with a tin filled with water sitting to the side. She sighed as she sat down for her breakfast.

Aubrey tried not to let the nervousness take control of her. She couldn't afford to let her jitters be shown. Everyone knew the little children and adults will see how everyone acts at the Reaping so they can know which ones to bet on. Not that she had much of a good reputation anyway.

She tried to stop thinking about what was to come, which seemed impossible at the time, and she couldn't help but notice three dresses sitting to the side on the floor. She was expecting the usual pale, worn out dresses that they always wore, but instead, there were three matching dresses that were blue, almost as blue as her eyes, and they were ombré, going from dark blue at the top to light blue at the bottom.

"Oh, mama! Those dresses are beautiful! Where did they come from?" Her little sister Cady seemed to have noticed the dresses too.

"The tailor was feeling generous and noticed our distress with clothes. He gave me 3 new outfits for each of you. For half off!" Every shop did seem a little giving on Reaping day, seeming as one of their customer's children may never be seen again.

"Well, they're a lot better than our usual outfits. Thank you."

Her younger sister was grateful for everything. She would thank you for the gum off your shoe, even if she had enough money to buy the Capitol.

"Yes. Now quit blabbering and get dressed. It's almost 2 o'clock."

They all threw on the pretty dresses and had their mother redo their hair (she said it looked like a blind man had done their hair). **( A/N No offense to blind people.)** Their mother checked them from head to toe. Then they dragged their drunk father from off a beaten down chair, and they were off.

Through the thick crowd, Aubrey could make out the little stand they had. They would ask your name and shove you on. Even if you weren't eligible, you still had to go so they would know you didn't skip. Skipping was punishable by death. The Capital claimed to be developing a new way to keep up with the populations.

When she was finally shoved along, Aubrey automatically looked for Zane despite everything. He would be in front of her, since the crowd was separated into ages. The youngest in the back, the oldest in the front. Then, in the way back, the people who weren't eligible. The scum of the earth. The people who would bet all they had on people being picked. Aubrey's family never made bets anymore because they always lost. That was part of the reason why they were so broke.

When Aubrey saw their district escort Kerri Klark coming on the stage, she wanted to puke. She was dressed in all pink, with long hair going down her shoulders and falling down until it reached her calves. She look ridiculous, as always. The district escort basically paraded the tributes around, and could step in if a mentor was not there, or the district had no mentors. So the escort has been a terrible mentor for the last 10 years.

The Mayor came onto the stage next and talked on and on about the Treaty of Treason, which was a deal that for rebelling, the Districts were forced to hold the Hunger Games every year, and every 25 years, there was a twist. Aubrey didn't know what the first one was, and she never got around to asking. She didn't want to know.

Once the mayor finally stopped droning on about the games, the escort stepped up to the front of the stage. Aubrey drew in her breath and tried not to pass out.

"Well, you know how we always do ladies first? Let's switch it up and do the boys first, shall we?" She walked over to the boys ball and cleared her throat. _Please don't be Zane, please don't be Zane, please don't be—_

"Jones Harrell." Aubrey let out the breath she was holding. Zane was safe. For now. The boy, Jones, hated Merchants. All he ever talked about was how much he hated them. He had so much hate, maybe he could win.

"Alright. To the ladies' bowl, shall we?" Ugh. Aubrey hated her voice so much. She had such a high pitched voice, and she always hissed her s's. Couldn't she learn to talk like a normal person?

She had only a moment to wish for her and her sisters' safety before the pink escort made her way to the bowl, cleared her throat, and plucked a name right out of the top of the bowl.

"Arianna Oric." Aubrey had a mini celebration in her head until she realized who Arianna actually was. Her big sister.

 **• • •**

Aubrey couldn't breathe, and that was putting it lightly.

Sure, the threat of getting picked always loomed overhead, but she never actually thought someone she loved would get picked.

She was still in shock until someone patted her shoulder.

She turned to look at them and realized it was Payton.

"No! NO!" she screamed and turned around. She wasn't about to let this girl, who has hated her guts ever since she has known her, give her comfort, which was probably fake. "Get the fuck off me! You know you don't care! The smirk on your face says it all! I'll make it so you'll have no face to smirk!" Aubrey was beyond insane by this point. She hadn't even noticed her sister walking up the stairs to her most definite death, the whole District staring sadly at Arianna, or Zane slyly making his way over to her. Aubrey stuck out her hand and slapped Payton so hard, she was sure Payton's whole family felt it. When she heard Payton's cry of pain, it didn't make her care anymore than she already did what happened to the girl, since she didn't care at all. She was tired of putting up with her shit. She couldn't stand it anymore. She was going to be a new girl now. She would be that one girl people cowered away from.

"Aubrey, stop!" She heard Zane before she saw him. She was surprised when Zane grabbed her hand instead of her waist, then she remembered they were in public. He grabbed her hand just in time, preventing her from slapping Payton to District 1. "Stop it! What are you doing? This won't help Your situation at all."

"No, but it will make me feel better! And she has the nerve . . . she's lucky I don't rip her eyeballs out!" Aubrey was so mad she didn't even stop to think about the Reaping. She knew if she thought about what was going on, she might've not been able to handle it.

Kelli was already blabbering on about the games, and Arianna was looking everywhere but Aubrey.

"Listen to me," Zane grabbed her hands and put them in his, while looking deep into her eyes, right into her soul. "The same way beating up Bronc won't help me, you beating up Payton won't fix anything either. You've got the whole District thinking that you're something you're not, so why don't you show them who you really are?" Zane was starting to get through to her. She turned limp and let her shoulders hang down.

Aubrey picked up her shoulders. She would need all of her strength for the upcoming event. The goodbyes.

"Okay. We'll talk more later. Go back before anyone else notices."

Zane sighed and let go. He walked away and didn't look back.

The whole exchange took about two minutes.

Aubrey looked back at Payton who looked surprised, confused, and scared. Aubrey snarled her lips at Payton and loved it when she flinched.

"—lright then!" The Escort looked happy and totally oblivious to the Chaos. "Alright-y then! Let's give a round of applause for the Tributes of District twelve!"

Not a single soul clapped.

"Okay. Come on, children." The Escort waved the children off of the stage. Aubrey was beyond happy when the Escort left.

She rushed to the Justice building to say goodbye to her sister. She burst through the door to see her always strong sister in a crying mess on the couch. She walked in and scooped her sister up in a hug, no questions asked. She patted her back and let her cry on her shoulder.

"Auby," Arianna called her by her nickname. "What do I do? Oh, I am so dead. I can't survive in the a . . . arena!" Her sister barely got out the last word before crying again. Aubrey thought about how her sister wanted to live but there was a high chance she wouldn't. Cady felt the same way about Aubrey that Aubrey felt about Arianna. Her little sister needed her. Her district didn't need or want her, but Zane did need her. She had to be strong for Arianna, and for them too.

"You go out there, you train, and you become the best you can be. Let your inner fire scream out in defiance." All she wanted was for her sister to come home.

"B . . . but I'm not _you,_ Aubrey. You're the one that got all of the fire. You...you've always been the one to stand up to dad or mom, even to society!"

"I don't give a—I don't care, Arianna. You could go out there without a care in the world, and fall off your plate before the gong rings and get blown to bits, and I still wouldn't care. I love you, and I'll be walking around with my nose in the air proudly no matter what." Aubrey could feel her eyes filling up, but she wouldn't let it get to her. "You have to come home, Arianna! I . . . I can't survive without you! You have to fucking win! You just have to. I won't allow you to die."

Her sister smiled slightly at her. "Thanks, Auby."

"You're wel—" The door flew open and a Peacekeeper came in the room.

"Your time is up." He grabbed Aubrey's arms forcefully.

"No! Get the Fuck off me!" Aubrey kicked at him and as he was dragging her out of the room she heard her sister yell, "I told you that you had all of the—" The door slammed.

Aubrey didn't know what to do. She just ran home. She didn't dare go to the woods. Not with all of the temporary Peacekeepers the Capitol had brought in.

She curled up into a little ball on the floor and cried. Reality had finally set in.

Her mother came in with a drunk looking father and a confused and sad looking Cady. She didn't even acknowledge them. By that time she had finally stopped crying. She heard a soft knock on the door about ten minutes later. Aubrey wiped her eyes and got up. Her mother opened the door, and there stood a Zane with a look of sorrow in his eyes, and handsome as ever in his grey outfit.

"What are you doing here? Get out, Seam scum!" her mother started to shout, but Aubrey wasn't having it.

"Go away, mother." Aubrey faced her mother head on, but her voice was still hoarse and weak.

"I am your mother! You don't—"

"Please just go."

Her mother looked shocked. She had expected Aubrey to blow up at her. She walked away.

Aubrey closed the door and stepped outside. Zane immediately grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Even after everything that had happened between them, she let herself melt into Zane. She really wanted to be sad. But she could never think thoughts like that if Zane kept kissing her the way he was then.

Zane pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"You still plan on being sad?"

"Not if you keep kissing me like this. You know how to make a girl go mad. You sure you've never done this before?"

Zane chuckled and moved his head off hers. "Yeah. Like I said before, I'm not a very nice person."

"Well, your great grip, amazing personality, awesome face—just you in general makes up for it. You're actually really nice. To me, that is."

Zane smiled at her. "Yeah, well you've always seemed to bring out the best in me."

"Ha. No, you bring out the best in me. Before I was just a scared little girl."

"Are you kidding me?" Zane laughed. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You and I bring out a lot in each other, but you've always been . . . crazy, sassy, and you don't put up with anyone's crap. Well, you won't anymore, right?"

Aubrey was flattered. "Damn right. And you've always been my much better half."

"And I think all of you is amazing." He gave her a little peck on the lips.

Aubrey laughed. Then she realized something.

"How do you know where I live?"

Zane laughed. "I just asked Arianna when I visited her."

Aubrey nodded, glad he wasn't stalking her.

"Now, I've got to go give my cousin his socks for his birthday, so I'll see you," Zane put his lips next to her ear, "tomorrow. You know where to meet me." He kissed her ear, then left a lingering kiss against her lips. Then he was gone.

Aubrey sighed and walked back into her house. Zane's absence left her feeling sad again. What was this boy doing to her? They hadn't even known each other for a month yet she felt something weird for him. She saw her mother and father staring wide eyed at her, while her little sister was giggling. She thought they were crazy until she looked out the window, which gave them a perfect view of what just happened between her and Zane, and _the goddam window was open._

"Oh my gosh." Aubrey collapsed onto her makeshift bed and face-palmed.

"Aubrey," Aubrey's mother approached her, then sat down next to her followed by her little sister, then her suddenly sober father in front of her. "What is going on between you and that Seam boy?"

"Umm . . . we are . . . really close friends?" She decided to try to play the friends card.

To her surprise, her mother just laughed. "Friends don't kiss each other like that. No matter how close they are." Aubrey must've looked very confused, because her mother sighed.

"Before you were born, a bunch of my friends met guys from the Seam and married them. I would see them walking around the district, poor and starving. They gave up a good home and food for love. I saw how they would smile, and their sinking eye sockets would sparkle. But I never understood why they gave up so much until I met your father." Even though this memory should've been happy, there was a sort of sadness in her eyes. "But I never wanted you, any of you to live that life. So I forced myself to develop a a hatred for the Seam, and I've hated them ever since."

"Oh . . ." she didn't know what to say. "Well, Zane is different. He's . . . he'd never hurt me like that. He's helped me more than he knows. He's helped me with . . . um, problems at school. He's more than I deserve."

"Yeah, okay," Aubrey's father spoke up. "But if he hurts you, I'll mess him up."

They all laughed. "Yeah, okay. But he won't, I promise."

"He'd better not. Does he know how crazy we are?" her mother said.

"Yes. He does."

"And he stayed?" they all laughed again, the Reaping forgotten for just a moment.


	5. Chapter Five

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hello darlings! I just realized how long it's been since I've updated! I hadn't realized it, so I am very sorry. And if it needs to be said, *CURSE WORDS BEWARE* But really, do I have to say it? This story is rated T only because of the language, and, well, it's the hunger games. People die. In brutal ways. *says causally* Oh, maybe my friends are right. I need help. Oh well.**

 **And this is the longest chapter you've seen from me. He he. I didn't split this one up, though. It's 5,350 exactly without the A/N!**

 **Do I need a disclaimer? I've never felt urged to put one, only because this site is for fanfiction . . . So why put one? Only if I quote part of a book or something.**

 **AND ALSO!**

 **There is a tiny part in this chapter where abuse is mentioned, so if that makes you uncomfortable just read until you get to another A/N.**

 **Chapter Five: Sorry Not Sorry**

It was Tuesday, a school day. If the old Aubrey's sister had gotten reaped, she would've faked being sick and cried in her room. But that day, she was feeling confident. She went to school in one of the three new outfits her mother bought her, ready to face the world head on. No more hiding. If Bronc, or Payton, or anyone else wanted to mess with her, she would stand her ground. She was done being a little punk. She didn't care who saw her and Zane together, since it wasn't a law that they couldn't date, and she needed all the comfort she could get for the next week or so, depending on how far her sister made it in the Games.

When she finally left the house, she saw many pitiful looks thrown her ways. She just turned her nose up at them.

Aubrey walked into the hallway, and was actually surprised to see Bronc and Payton making out in a corner. There was a rumor that they were dating, but there was also a rumor that she was pregnant, so she payed no mind to them. She almost laughed when Payton looked at her and made a noise in her throat. Aubrey waved at them and made her way down the hallway with a bounce in her step. She saw Zane by himself leaning up against a locker. He was looking at an old book the school gave them to study. It was about the coal mines. She walked up to him and he still didn't notice. She softly closed the book and he finally looked at her with fear and questioning in his grey eyes.

"Aubrey," Zane started. "What are you—"

"Shh." Aubrey put her fingers on his lips. "It's not a law that we can't be seen together. And, I need you at home and school. I got my family to not hate you after they saw and heard our little . . . conversation last night."

Zane blushed and looked both ways down the hallway. Payton and Bronc were the only people in the hallway, still kissing.

"Are you sure?"

Aubrey grabbed him by his collar and kissed him, thinking that was a good enough answer. She didn't care about the stupid rules that the Merchants made up, she needed him, and she wasn't about to let Payton tell her what to do, or how to live her life.

Zane smiled into their kiss. He had jumped on page with Aubrey.

Aubrey pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I won't let anyone else decide our life. Our future. No one but you, and me."

"You're amazing, you know. And I told you, you are blazing."

Aubrey found that funny. "I would have never done this if I had never met you."

He rolled his eyes. "You always have been, you've just never let other people see."

Aubrey stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, look who it is." They both turned around to see Bronc standing there with a grin plastered on his face and Payton trying to look confident. Emphasis on _trying._

"For as long as anyone can remember, the Seam and Town kids have disliked each other. Sure, some Merchants still married off with Seam men, but look where they are now. Poor and starving. We just want to prevent that. We want everyone to know that _rules are rules,_ and you don't break the rules when we're the ones enforcing them." Payton grabbed a lock of Aubrey's hair. "And you, well, you've never been worth much anyway, so you'd probably end up in the Seam on your own."

Aubrey was not happy.

This girl, this stupid, bratty, snobby Merchant girl was trying to tell about that she was worthless. Before, she might've cried. She let things get to her too easily. But now, she was done with all this nonsense.

She grabbed Payton's hand and threw it away from her.

"Don't touch me."

Payton look intrigued.

"Hm, looks like the mouse wants to fight back, huh?"

"You know what they say. When the cat's away, the mice will play."

She put her face close to Aubrey's.

"Then I suggest you run. Because the cat's still here, sweetheart."

Okay, maybe Aubrey should've walked away. Maybe she should've called someone. Maybe she should've just jumped in one of the lockers. But she couldn't. For once in her life, she just couldn't back down. She couldn't let Payton win—she couldn't stand to see the satisfaction on her face. So she did the only logical thing her brain could think of.

She punched Payton square in the face.

It was a sloppy punch, and Aubrey's knuckles hurt so bad afterward, but seeing Payton stumble backwards and fall on the ground clutching her nose—it just stirred something inside of her. She wanted to do it again. She wanted to see Payton at her mercy and begging on her knees.

Whoa, what had gotten into her?

Bronc snapped his eyes toward Aubrey.

"You did not just hit my girlfriend!"

"Your girl—?"

Aubrey cut Zane off.

"She was taunting me and asking for it. Next time, tell her to keep the fuck out of my personal space."

Bronc's whole face turned an ugly shade of red, and he charged at her.

Her good 'ol boyfriend Zane met him halfway held him down, while Payton screamed and kicked at the floor.

"My nose! Somebody call the nurse! Ow!"

Bronc had accidentally kicked her in the head.

"Alright, buddy boy, calm down before I have to punch you. And you don't want me to punch you." Zane was kneeling on the ground, holding down a struggling Bronc.

"You touch me and I'll have you hanged!"

Zane rolled his eyes.

"Why? So the whole district can know you're a 'lil bitch?" Zane slammed Bronc back on the ground when he tried to get up. "You either stop or I'll shove my foot up your ass and make you sing opera."

Bronc finally stopped struggling, and Aubrey walked over to Payton.

Aubrey looked at Bronc who had been let up, and Payton, who was still screaming. She was aware of Bronc coming towards her.

She whirled around. "Get the fuck back. I'm taking her to the nurse."

"I can." He glared at her.

"No, you can't. You can't even even defend yourself against a 15 year old, so shut up." She saw him clench his lips together, and Zane smirk.

She lifted Payton by her arms and dragged her down the hallway. Zane didn't move. "Aren't you coming? And you too," Aubrey nodded her chin at Bronc.

She pulled Payton down the empty hallways with Zane and Bronc trailing behind her. When they walked in the room, the nurse gasped and asked how it happened.

She quickly said, "She ran into a pole, clumsy her," before Payton could say anything, and glared at her.

She grabbed Zane and Bronc, pulling them out of the room.

"A pole?" Zane raised his eyebrows then laughed.

"Yes." It was all she could come up with on the spot, adding the fact that she didn't really care what the nurse thought.

"There are no poles in the school that I am aware of."

"Shut up." She nudged Zane. "And you," she was referring to Bronc. "You better keep this between us if you know what's good for you." She grabbed Zane's hand and pulled him down the hallway, then started to run. The bell had rung and everyone was heading to class. They ran hand in hand through clusters of kids who parted for them.

They ended up in a small closet.

Aubrey was very stressed about what had just happened, and she wanted to relax.

Aubrey pushed a broom out of her face and straddled Zane's waist.

"If anyone asks why we're late, say we were helping Payton," she said, right before she pressed her lips up against his.

They stayed in that closet for the whole first period, which was about an hour. They laughed softly, talked in whispers, and shared many kisses. When they finally left the closet when no one was around, they sneaked into their classes, and, surprisingly, no one knew they were missing. Aubrey smiled the whole day, and couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face no matter how hard she tried, even when she got home. She told her mom she was going to meet a friend, and her mother just nodded at her.

She finally got to see Zane in the woods again. It had felt like forever since they had been in the woods, a place where no one would be there to watch them be themselves. Aubrey was still sad about Arianna's absence, but she had to think positive about her sister going into the games, because if she didn't, she would be sitting in a corner crying her eyes out.

As Aubrey slid under the fence, she heard a weird noise. It sounded like . . . something, no, _someone_ was talking.

Aubrey quietly stepped behind a tree, and turned towards the noise. She could see two people in the distance. It looked like a women and Zane. But that women . . . she just looked so familiar to Aubrey. Had she seen her at the Reaping? Had she met her during a past Reaping. Aubrey saw the big basket in her hand, and it suddenly clicked. That was the woman who helped her out the first time she tried to slip under the fence!

Aubrey moved over to another tree to hear what they were saying.

"—Merchants? No way. I know my feelings for them have changed, but once I realized how truly horrible they were, there was no way I was about to give that girl a thing." Aubrey couldn't believe that women was saying those things, considering how nice she was to Aubrey all those years ago.

"But ma! You just cost us a couple coins! I don't care if she was a Merchant," Zane looked angry. His face was flushed and his voice was low but serious. "It's still money. You know we need all the help we can get."

"Okay, okay! Just don't think I'm going to like those evil, dirty Merchants!" If Aubrey had never met Payton, she might have been offended.

"Not all Merchants are like that, ma." She knew Zane was talking about her, and the thought stirred her stomach up.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Most of them are. Goodbye, and don't forget to check for Peacekeepers." Zane's mother hugged him and walked through the forest.

Aubrey waited until the coast was clear, then wrapped her arms around Zane from behind.

He practically jumped out of his skin.

"Aubrey!" he screamed.

"The one and only," Aubrey laughed when she saw his shocked face.

"You scared the . . . Geez, how long have you been here?"

Aubrey decided he didn't need to know _everything._ "Mmm, I just got here." She turned Zane around in her arms and kissed his cheek.

"So," Aubrey wanted to make the most of the day with him. "What are we doing today?"

"Mmm . . . we're going to . . . I just thought . . . we should . . . to avoid any . . . Aubrey, stop it! I can't focus on what I'm thinking with you doing that," Aubrey put her hands up and stopped kissing his neck. "Anyway, since your sister went into the games, I started to think that the same could happen to you." Ugh. Aubrey didn't need reminding. It was already bad enough knowing her sister was gone, and it was hard trying to stay positive all of the time.

"So you're saying . . . ?"

"I'm saying, we should prepare you for the games. You know, teach you to hunt, walk quietly, all of the basic skills. I saw today you have potential with hand-to-hand combat, but the careers are better. Any skills you're good at?" The careers were what they called Districts 1, 2, 4.

Aubrey didn't want to spend her day training, but she had no choice. "I'm pretty good with a knife. And annoying people."

"Pretty good won't make you a Victor if the Careers are excellent, as they usually are. Show me how "pretty good" you are." Aubrey didn't even bother to point out the fact that what he said wasn't correct grammar. Zane handed her a knife out of his bag, and she held it in her hands. The only time she had thrown a knife was when she was angry, so she didn't know if she would be able to do it while she was happy. "Well?"

"Umm . . . I've never thrown a knife 'just because'. I've only thrown one when my parents were fighting, or when they were making me mad, which was most of the time." She really wanted Zane to comfort her, but she knew that this wasn't sweet fifteen year old Zane. It was games trainer, doesn't take shit from anyone, Zane. It was all the Capitols fault, and oh, were they going to pay. Aubrey put a menacing grin on her face, gripped the knife, and threw it at the tree. Zane had squashed berries into a dye of some sort, and the tree now had a target on it.

It landed somewhere near the middle.

"Wow. I didn't even have to get you worked up. But you do have anger issues." For a second, just a little second, her Zane was back.

"Yeah, well, thinking of the Capitols downfall makes me happy, ya' know?" Aubrey knew her Zane was long gone again, but it was nice to see him for a second.

"Alright, not bad, but you can't always be mad to throw the knife. you won't always be mad in the arena."

"How much ya' wanna bet?" Aubrey knew she was not going to be happy in the arena. Oh no. She would be pissed as hell if she actually went into the arena. She would get so worked up, she might blow the damn Arena and everyone in it up. She actually hoped that's what Arianna would do, but she doubted it. It wasn't even possible, right?

For the rest of the day, they practiced skills Zane thought might come in handy in the arena, like knife throwing, plant identification, running, and mostly survival skills. Aubrey got her Zane back a few times, especially when they practiced running and she beat him every single time.

Aubrey walked home sore, but she felt a little better when Zane said that they'd meet again tomorrow, even though she knew that they would be training. She felt a whole lot better when he kissed her goodbye and lingered around a couple extra seconds to look at her. He said he was memorizing her so he would miss her a little less.

Needless to say, Aubrey went home a very, very happy girl that night.

 **• • •**

Aubrey woke up in the morning, yawned, and held onto the brief, delicious feeling of happiness, somehow associated with Zane. She knew it wouldn't last long.

Today was the opening ceremonies, the chariot rides, the day her older sister would be put on a chariot with a horse, have overly extravagant makeup, and look like a fucking idiot. Aubrey couldn't even believe all of the stupid things the Capitol wore. Between her district escort Kerri Klark and what she had seen on television, they looked like brightly painted llamas. She already knew they would throw Arianna into a stupid coal miner outfit, and she wouldn't get sponsors.

Aubrey snapped out of her fantasy world and got ready for school.

When Aubrey got to school, she was surprised to see Payton and Bronc together. She had thought Payton was in the hospital or something. Payton had a huge white bandage on her nose. Aubrey had to fight down a smile.

"Still don't feel bad, do you?"

She jumped out of her skin when she heard Zane's voice behind her, and felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"Oh my gosh, Zane!" She was still trying to control her out of control beating heart as she turned to face Zane, but it wasn't only beating fast because he just scared the crap out of her.

He laughed. "Sorry, it's a hunter thing. Being a quiet walker."

"Well, you have to teach me that. So one day I can sneak up on Payton, and," Aubrey made a strangling motion.

She was very, very lucky Zane understood her, or else he would think she was a crazy bitch. Well, she _was_ a crazy bitch, but maybe he would think she had a couple thousand screws loose.

"You could breathe and she'd scream and say you stabbed her," Zane told her while shrugging. "And to think, I thought she would make your life hell."

"Trust me," Aubrey said while smirking. "She would know if I was stabbing her, alright," Aubrey said while clasping her hands together and running her fingers up and down her hands.

Zane laughed so hard, that he bent over like Aubrey had kicked him in the crotch again. What? He didn't think about her reflexes when he sneaked up on her during training, so he technically brought it on himself.

"I'm so lucky to have you. You're one of the only people who understands me."

"Am I the number one person?"

"No. Arianna is the number one person, then you," Aubrey deadpanned.

"Aw man! Why can't I be number one?"

"Don't worry," Aubrey reassured him. "You'll always be the number one boyfriend."

"Are you implying that you have others?"

Aubrey shrugged. "If that's how you interpret that."

Zane frowned and said, "Then I guess I'll have to win you over."

Aubrey was about to ask what that meant before he placed a soft kiss on her neck.

Aubrey gasped out in shock and shoved him away.

"We're in school! Save that for later."

She was blushing like crazy and her neck was tingling from where Zane's lips touched her.

Zane smirked and winked at her. Then he proceeded to nuzzle her neck instead.

Aubrey smiled warmly as he nuzzled his nose against hers.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Aubrey looked away from Zane, only to see Payton, and like, ten other girls standing behind her with nasty looks on their faces. What the hell was Payton planning? Did she really think that this pathetic group of Merchant girls, who would scream and cry if you spilled water on their shoes, would do something that could physically hurt her?

"Wow, your wittle mommy must've sold your whole house to get you that outfit."

Okay, she she was going for mentally.

Good luck.

"And your mommy will have to sell _her_ house to buy enough makeup to cover up what I'll do to you if you don't shut up."

If Aubrey knew how to do one thing, it was annoy the hell out of everyone around her. She didn't have a lot of people who hate her for no reason.

"Please, like you could touch me if you tried."

"Have you forgotten yesterday already?" She could see Payton getting flustered under her six layers of makeup.

"Watch your back, Aubrey."

All of her Merchant friends looked pissed as they whipped their hair and walked away

Her and Zane high-fived.

"I really didn't think she had the balls to come up to you and say those things to you," Zane said while smiling.

"Well, apparently she does. But those balls won't last long, I'll bet you. I may not look like much, but all those years of being pushed around sure did pay off. I feel like I could beat anybody up, now."

"Not me right?" Zane said as he grabbed her hand.

"Just because I like you doesn't mean I still won't kick your ass," Aubrey said.

Oh, how she adored Zane. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she did. She never really wanted love. She didn't cast it out completely, but she didn't want it. She would take it if it came, and it had come. She had been so scared to love, so scared that her relationship would turn out like her parents' did. Her mom had to constantly remind her dad to stop drinking, not that he ever listened. They would yell when he was sober, which was almost never, and Aubrey just got so angry when he would yell, with his words slurred, that she sometimes had to walk out of the house and go to the meadow. It was a wide space with lots of green plants and flowers. It would calm her every time she went there. She would run her hands through the soft, green grass and feel alright. When it was winter, she would just throw snowballs at Merchant's windows until they almost saw her.

But now, her father had started to drink even more. He would spend most of the day passed out or hungover, and Aubrey hated it.

 **• • •**

Coming home from school was depressing. She had wanted to go to the woods with Zane, but he had to go with his brother to help his grandmother. It was a wonder she was still alive, with all of the stuff she had been through. She was alive during the dark days, and would tell stories to Zane, and he would repeat them to her.

She smiled.

"Hey, look at you! Actually smiling. The world must be ending."

Aubrey turned to the right to see Zane's brother walking with her.

"Yeah, cue the fireballs," Aubrey said.

They had met a couple of times in the woods when Aubrey first met Zane. Joshua was nice enough, but also very sarcastic and snarky. He was also asexual and aromantic.

"It's not too often that you smile around me," Josh smirked.

"Like you give me much of a reason to."

"Hey! I'll have you know, I am very funny. You can ask Zane."

Aubrey sighed when she heard his name. All sorts of feelings came up when she heard his name, but affection and longing were winning out in the competition for her attention.

She frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be with him?"

"Oh, there goes that smile. What was that, 5 seconds? That must be a record."

Aubrey scoffed. "I'll have you know, I laughed, yes I said _laughed,_ for three minutes straight."

"And when was this?"

"When I looked at your face for the first time," Aubrey joked.

"Ha, ha."

"Fine," She rolled her eyes. "When I was with Zane."

"Of course. You're all he talks about. He won't ever shut up! It's kind of annoying, you know."

"I'm never annoy . . . Okay, never mind." She thought about what happened with Payton before class started.

"Glad you finally realized. Now, as much as my presence warms you, I have to go see my grandmother before Zane kills me for being late."

He turned and walked off.

Aubrey smiled a little. His presence was comforting. It was like an older, snarkier version of Zane, and she had a feeling they would become great friends.

The rest of the walk home was silent. She didn't encounter anyone, but she did see the pity in their eyes.

Idiots.

When she entered her house, she could feel the tension in the air. She looked towards the sound of yelling and knew why.

Her parents were fighting. And it was bad.

That's really saying something.

It was making her angry very quickly. He was being a weak bitch and wasting away his life while the rest of them were dealing with it. He claimed he was doing it for Arianna, that she told him to do it, but she knew he was lying.

"—to die!" she heard her mother yell.

"You don't know that! When has District twelve ever had a Victor? Never," her father yelled back.

Aubrey was surprised he could talk.

"So? She could be the first."

"Yeah, very likely," he sneered.

Aubrey decided she had had enough. Ever since the Reaping, she had been trying to stay calm and happy. Zane was a big part of being able to do that. Her father just made it harder. And now, she was done.

"Shut up! Shut the hell up! you have no idea what she is capable of! All you've done your whole life is sit around drunk! You wouldn't even remember her name if I hadn't told you! You couldn't tell me what my name was if your life depended on it! Do you even know how old you are?

"We have been poor since before I was born, and you still decide to spend all of our money on alcohol. You're the stupidest, shittiest father anyone could ever have. You make up excuses for your drinking, and you're just a bitch! You heard the rumors right? Oh, no. Right. You haven't. People say I fuck old men for our Merchant position! Do you believe it? Because I feel like you would."

Aubrey's father just stared at her. She saw a lot of emotions flash across his face. Surprise. Sorrow. Realization. Anger. A lot of anger. Aubrey felt like she should clear out before one of them exploded from anger, or her parents registered that she just cursed multiple times.

 **( A/N Alirght, Kiddos. This is where what I mention in the first A/N comes up. Don't worry, it's nothing much, just like four sentences. And he misses, anyway.)**

All her life, Aubrey always kept her thoughts about the way her father lived her life inside her head. She couldn't afford to address it, or something might happen. Something bad.

He reached out and angered hand and made a move to slap Aubrey across her face.

Her father had never been the abusive type, and had never lied a hand on any of them before.

Never.

She heard her mother's gasp as his hand passed over her head. He was drunk, so his hand-eye coordination was questionable at the least. She couldn't believe it. For once, her father was the first one to boil over with anger.

 **( A/N Hey. You can continue to read now.)**

He was about to see a whole different side of her. Aubrey never had any positive thoughts about him, only when she was young and oblivious. He had never helped them, had never cared. So why should she care now?

Somewhere in her mind, she was being reminded that he was family. But family didn't hurt each other on purpose time and time again, mentally _or_ physically.

Ohana might mean family, but that didn't mean she had to love him.

She saw the regret fill his eyes, but she wasn't really the forgiving type. She felt heartless at the moment, like her heart had suddenly turned to ice.

Aubrey pushed him back and watched as he stumbled onto the floor. She walked over to his alcohol stash and stared throwing every bottle on the ground. The sound of glass shattering was the only thing she could hear, and it was oddly comforting.

For every bottle she smashed, she thought of what she hated about him.

 _His stupid ways._

 _Smash!_

 _His stupid excuses._

 _Smash!_

 _His stupid carelessness._

 _Smash!_

Aubrey looked at the floor after the last bottle was smashed. It was littered with glass and liquids ranging in colors. The stench of alcohol filled the air, and it made Aubrey wrinkle her nose in disgust.

Aubrey looked over at her parents. They were just standing there, looking at her. Neither of them had tried to stop her. Her father was looking down at the floor, crying.

 _Cry bitch, cry._

Aubrey tried to gain control of whatever sanity she had left, and decided to high tail it out of there before she did anything she might regret.

She ran to the meadow as fast as she could and fell down onto the grass. She just lied there on her back, her hands clasped together on her stomach, and her legs straight out.

She didn't know how long she stayed out there for. All she knew was it had been a few hours since she left. She didn't know if she would go back. If she _could_ go back.

It was dark when he found her.

"Aubrey? What are you doing out here so late?" Zane was leaning over her.

She jumped up so quickly she knocked him over when she tackled him in a hug.

"Oh, Zane! Today—I messed up. I don't know what—My dad . . ." Aubrey let the tears that formed in her eyes flow down her face. She could feel again now that Zane was there holding her.

"What happened? Shh, just take it slow," Zane said softly. He sat up and pulled her onto his lap.

"I-I was walking home, and I ran into your brother." She told Zane everything that happened, and she started crying when she told him what she had done to her father's stash. Zane just hugged her closer to him, and whispered calming things into her ear.

"It's okay, Aubrey. He deserved it and it'll help him now. If he tries to touch you again, find me so I can beat the shit out of him for touching my girl. But don't worry, it'll all be okay." She wanted desperately to believe Zane, but how could she?

"How? How do you know?"

"Because things always find a way. I'll help you through anything."

Aubrey was extremely grateful to have him. He was everything she needed, whenever she needed it.

She needed to know something.

"How did you know I has here?"

"I went to your house to see you, and they said you left. I knew you wouldn't be in the woods at this time of the day without me. So I came here. Looks like I was right."

"Oh . . . well, I'd better be getting back. Thank you, for everything. And I do mean _everything_."

Aubrey really didn't want to let go of him and go back to her house alone, but she knew she needed to. She had already missed the opening ceremonies, and didn't want to face her father after what had happened.

"Oh, I don't want to let you go." Zane held her tighter.

"Then don't ever let me go. I mean it."

"I know you do."

Aubrey smirked. "I won't punch you if you make me happy when I leave."

"That's impossible. To make you happy when you're leaving me."

"Exactly the point."

"You just love torturing me, don't you?"

"I do."

Zane smiled and brought his lips down to hers. The kiss started out sweet, but then turned slow and deep. Aubrey held onto the memory of his lips for as long as she could. They kissed until they had to come up for air.

"What the hell was that? I said make me happy, not wanting more," Aubrey said while smiling.

"Exactly the point," Zane said while turning around to go home.

She glared at his back as he walked away.

She started the walk home, dreading what she would find when she got there.


	6. Chapter Six

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hello my gracious people who read this story. So, when you get to chapter eight, which I've just finished writing the first half, things will get crazy. Like insane! But, n** **eedless to say, it will be amazing. If you thought any sister of Aubrey's was going to go into the Capitol without kicking some serious rear-end, then you just might be crazy, like me. Welcome to the better side. We have been expecting you. Sorry! I'll stop with my useless babble now, if babble is even a real word . . .**

 **Chapter Six: Their brains might as well be as useful as a Merchant in the woods**

 **(*Dodges flying shoe from Aubrey*)**

 **("I'm a strong Merchant!")**

 **(Sorry!)**

Entering the house wasn't as weird as Aubrey thought it was going to be. For starters, her parents acted as if nothing happened. Then they made her dinner and sent her off to bed, like they were trying to calm her. The mess on the floor was cleaned up, and nothing seemed out of place.

She was immediately suspicious.

Why would her parents be so nice to her knowing what happened and how crazy she was? Did the games start early and Arianna die? No, no. That wasn't it. She felt stupid for even thinking of it. Whatever happened, Aubrey never let it out of her mind. She thought about it the whole time she was getting ready for school.

Walking to school, she had to pass the big screen in the Town Square. Since she had time to spare, and she didn't really care if she was late, she decided to catch up on what she missed yesterday.

They were playing re-runs from the opening ceremonies.

District 1 was dressed in this clear, sheer body suit not leaving much up to your imagination, modeling luxury and getting lots of sponsors, as usual.

District Two had two strong tributes, the boy being at least 6'4, and the girl was short with big muscles. Yikes. They were sporting gladiator outfits.

District three was as pitiful as usual, dressed up as electronics and getting no sponsors.

District Four had a boy who looked smaller than their usual, but Aubrey didn't count him out. The girl was strong from fishing, and tall. She was also beautiful. That meant lots of sponsors.

Districts Five and Six were nothing special.

District Seven had tributes with strong arms, but they were not very good looking or strong in any other area. They were not to be counted out, but they weren't a big threat.

Districts Eight, Nine, Ten, and Eleven were okay.

And she suddenly knew why her parents were trying to make her as calm as possible. She saw her sister and her district partner, Jones.

She didn't like what she saw.

The only person who had seen Arianna the way she was at that moment at the parade was her family when she was a baby. And Aubrey wanted to keep it that way even though it was out of her control a the moment.

She was naked.

Fucking _naked._

What—The—Hell.

In what dumb ass universe that those stupid Capitol people come from made this alright? It wasn't alright!

Aubrey knew she was going to explode. She wanted to go on a mission to the Capitol and personally murder everyone who dared to even breathe.

Her parents' attempts were exactly that, attempts, because they failed. Horribly.

That stylist was garbage! An absolute idiot! Aubrey could make a better outfit than her with her eyes closed! _Closed._

Her brain must be the size of a pea. If she even had a brain.

Unlikely.

Her brain—if she had one—must be covered in glitter, and dyed pink with purple highlights.

The rest of her walk to school was more of an angry stomp, with a _get out of my way or else_ look on her face.

Walking into the school building made everyone look at her. It was very hard to not notice someone when they slammed the door very loudly and kicked it for good measure.

Kids were practically diving to get out of the way when she walked down the hall.

Perfect. Just how she liked and wanted it.

By the way she was glowing with anger, you'd think everyone would stay away.

Oh, all but one person.

She felt the arms before she saw them. They wrapped around her waist and turned her around.

"Hey, Zane," she sighed. She was feeling better already.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Because if anyone else had done that, I would have already killed them."

"That doesn't answer my question. And ha, you won't kill me because you love me too much."

"You'd think."

"I do."

"You think so? I don't think you think a lot. But who cares what I think?"

"Count how many times you said think in that last sentence."

Aubrey couldn't help but laugh. Zane made her smile and laugh even when she was about to murder someone.

They compliment each other.

You'd think that when Zane was around, and the fact that Zane kicked his ass, that Bronc would stay away from Aubrey.

Guess the stylist for District Twelve isn't the only dumb person.

Seriously, their brains might as well be as useful as a Merchant in the woods. Or a normal Merchant, at least.

"I saw your sister on the screen, naked. I knew it looked familiar!"

Aubrey was trying to keep her cool, but Bronc's comment made her so angry she was pretty sure there was smoke coming out of her ears.

She never was one for self-control anyway.

"Looks like it runs in the family." Bronc said. "You both love to get naked, don't you?"

Aubrey couldn't even breathe. Bronc had talked about her, what she did, the rumors, and about her actions, but never about her family. This was crossing the line. Talk about her family, or Zane, and your getting your ass kicked.

She felt like she might explode if she didn't get out of the building, or punch someone. She knew she had to make the right choice, or something bad might happen.

She looked at Zane, and he looked even madder than she was, which seemed impossible. She knew he was about to do something either crazy, or stupid.

Gone was the sweet fifteen year old.

Zane let go of her and got in Bronc's face.

"Shut up! Don't talk about Aubrey _or_ Arianna like that!"

Bronc cracked his knuckles.

"Or else what? What are you gonna do about it?"

Zane's face was dark and angry. His eyes held a storm in them.

"I'll break your face if you don't stop."

Bronc snorted. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried. You're just a weak little Seam boy who can't even feed himself and your slut of a girl—"

Zane punched Bronc dead in his face and stopped his insults.

"You know nothing about me!" he slammed Bronc against the lockers. "Don't pretend like you know me!"

Bronc gasped and pushed Zane off of him.

"You wanna go? Let's go!"

Aubrey wasn't really sure if cheering Zane on was the smart thing to do, but she was itching to see Bronc get his butt kicked for real.

Bronc lunged at Zane and they started fighting.

A small crowd had formed around them, and people were betting money on who would win.

Aubrey had a huge smirk on her face and was chanting Zane's name along with some other kids who were on his side.

Zane landed a punch on Bronc's chest and sent him flying backwards. A lot of people oohed and cheered.

Aubrey suspected no teachers would be on the scene for at least ten more minutes. They didn't really care about the students, and they were all preparing for class anyway.

Bronc picked himself up and kicked Zane down, jumping on top of him.

Some of Bronc's supporters cheered his name as he slapped Zane across his face.

"Oh, we're bitch slapping now? Alright."

Aubrey's smile grew larger as she watched Zane pick himself off of the ground slap Bronc so hard his head hit the floor.

" _What is going on here_?"

Aubrey's eyes went wide and she looked to the right and saw one of the teachers trying to make their way through the crowd.

"Zane! Stop, the cops are here!"

He looked up at her, his fist inches away from Bronc's face.

"What?! Wait, we don't even have cops—"

"Just come on!"

She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall, falling in line with all of the kids scurrying away from the scene.

They ended up in another closet.

She sat him down and inspected his wounds.

"You think he'll snitch?" Aubrey asked as she touched a bruise on his arm.

He flinched and shook his head.

"I don't think so. You know Bronc. He's all about pride and looking strong. If he admits he got in a fight, he'll have to admit he got beat up. And I think the other students know he'll get them if they tell."

Aubrey nodded and used her shirt to wipe some blood off of his eyebrow.

"That was brave of you. To stand up for me, I mean."

Zane smiled a bit.

"Well, I couldn't just let him talk about you and your sister like that. The day I let someone disrespect you is the day I die. I'll protect you till the end, Aubrey." He looked into her eyes, staring deep into her soul. "I can't stand by and do nothing. And I may or may not have some slight anger issues."

"'Slight' is an understatement. But thanks." She kissed his cheek and sat back down. "But you have some wounds. And I am _not_ letting you go all day like this, so we're going home."

Zane raised an eyebrow.

"Like, your house?"

"No, my secret lair underground."

Zane looked awed for a second, then he blushed.

"Oh."

"You didn't possibly believe—"

"No, no. It just surprised me, is all. Let's go."

They somehow managed to sneak out of the school. All of the teachers were grilling students about the fight, and Aubrey knew they were safe for the time being.

Aubrey knew her house was empty. Her parents were at the shop, and her sister was in school.

Aubrey bit her lip when she thought of where Arianna was.

Would she make it out alive? Would life go on if she died? Would Aubrey be alright? Why was everything in her life so horrible? Maybe someday far in the future, someone would come along and save her. Save Panem. Maybe one day they would all be free of worry and pain. Maybe one day they would be free of the games. As long as it happened someday, she'd be fine. President Snow could only reign for so long, and no one will miss him when he's gone.

Aubrey sighed and went back to more realistic thoughts. She couldn't afford to worry about something that might never happen.

When they arrived at her house, Aubrey opened the door and helped Zane inside. His leg was pretty bruised.

She sat him down on her bed and went to get some supplies.

Thankfully, he had no major wounds. Just bruises and scratches. She was no doctor, and she didn't want to accidentally kill him because she didn't know what she was doing.

She got some ice and wrapped it around a bruise on his arm. Then she rolled up his pant leg and placed some ice there.

She took a deep breath.

"Take off your shirt."

He looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

"You have a bruise on your chest and you need to take your shirt off."

He nodded and silently removed his shirt.

Aubrey pointedly avoided looking at his abs and focused on his bruise, which was on his side.

After applying ice there, she put a bandage on the cut on his right eyebrow.

After a couple of minutes, she finished treating him and just held his hand and sat next him.

It was silent until he spoke up.

"Thank you."

She looked at him.

"Thank you," he continued, "for helping me. I got myself in quite a lot of trouble." He chuckled a bit. "But thanks."

Aubrey nodded and stared into his grey eyes.

They were like mini pools of silver. Sometimes they look like metal, sometimes they looked like a storm. They even resembled clouds. Together they made a blue sky and puffy clouds. Or a wild ocean and a raging storm. She could get lost in his eyes. Lost and never to be found.

Little did she know, Zane was thinking the exact same thing as her.

"So are we going back to school or what? I am perfectly fine with staying here, but it would seem a bit suspicious to skip class after what happened this morning." Zane sat up.

"Well, you do make a good point."

"Of course I do."

She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Let's go, then."

Aubrey pulled Zane up, and they walked to school.

 **• • •**

School that day was amazing for Aubrey, watching all of the kids bump and stumble into desks just to get away from her. She felt like she had a new sense of power, she felt like she was the one on top. After the fight, no one dared to mess with her. They didn't want Zane to kick their butts.

That day was also the first day of training for her sister, and Aubrey hoped that Arianna was making good use of her time and learning new things.

With that stupid escort telling her what to do, she seriously doubted it.

There were only four more days left until her sister would be thrown into the Arena. Some how, four days seemed like two seconds. There was only four days left of Aubrey knowing her sister was alive. When those days were up, all hell would break loose.

As if it hadn't already.

Aubrey walked home, passing through the Town Square again.

Aubrey scowled.

They were just playing the chariot rides again.

Even though Aubrey was angry, and she didn't like the fact that those nasty Capitol men where getting their rocks off her sister, she couldn't deny the fact that it was getting her sponsors.

Maybe guess the stylist wasn't _that_ stupid.

People kept staring at Aubrey with pity, and looking her up and down. The people that dared to do that would have melted if looks could kill.

The day passed by quickly, as did the next, and before Aubrey knew what happened, it was time for the training scores. She didn't know what her sister did. All she hoped was that her score wasn't too low, or too high. Aubrey was very manipulative, and devious. She knew how to play her cards right, and she knew what the deal with scores was.

You get a high score, those pricks from the Career districts kill you because you might prove to be valuable and stand in their way of showing their honor. You get a low score, those pricks from the Career Districts want to kill you to pick the easy ones off.

Arianna will not be easy.

She might seem nice and cuddly, but she could really stand a lot. You could tease her and tease her, but she'd never snap. That is part of the reason why they tease Aubrey, because she would snap someones head off and let the anger get the best of her. Arianna could take everything in, and make you feel like shit without her even trying. She was powerful, and a wiz with emotions. She had made people cry with one glance.

That was her thing. That was what Aubrey was hoping would get her out of the Arena.

The training scores had started, and it was displayed on their crappy TV that every house had, even if they couldn't afford it. It was illegal to miss the Games.

District One was the usual 8-10 score for the Careers, and the boy got a 9 while the girl got a 8.

District Two's boy got a 10, and the girl got a 9.

Three's tributes were lame, and both got 4's. Not surprising.

District Four had somewhat strong Tributes, both of them getting 7's.

Six and Seven's tributes both scored low.

District Seven was turning out to be not such a strong Career District. The boy got a 6 and the girl got a 5.

District Eight's boy got a 3 and the girl a got a 7. Aubrey reminded herself to keep an eye on her.

The next three districts scored low.

It was time. Time to see what Arianna did. Aubrey would know what she did by the score she got. A high score means she either threw knives, or other small hand weapons. A low score meant that was going to be her strategy, or she tried something new.

The boy, Jones Harrell, got a 9. What the hell did he do? He was strong for someone who was starved for most of their life. He got a higher score than half of those pricks from the Career districts.

Aubrey was on the edge of her seat. Her whole family was sitting around the old TV.

"And last, but certainly not least, from District Twelve, Arianna Oric has received, a . . . 7!"

Her whole family cheered, but Aubrey didn't. A 7? What? That would mean the Careers would be getting suspicious, if they weren't already. First she made a splash at the Opening ceremonies, then she made a decent training score? She was quickly turning into a fan favorite, and she would be getting killed in the blood bath if the others could reach her.

Great.


	7. Chapter Seven

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Oh my gosh, It's been awhile since I've updated. I'm currently going over this while watching Victorious, (the TV show, not the song :) and it's kinda hard to focus. I don't really have much else to say, so review or something if you want. I don't feel the need to say anything about the curse words, you know already, and it's T rated for a reason. Oh, I just had to add some fluff in here. Enjoy**

 **Chapter Seven: Evil smirks and mysterious answers**

Since it was the weekend, Aubrey spent her morning training in the woods with Zane. She was still nervous for her sister. Almost every other person who had been from a non-Career district and thought they could win died first, after the Careers started to realize that all the sponsors were getting pulled towards them and not themselves. They started to eliminate all the suspicious tributes first, and everyone already doubted that Arianna would come home. Even though Zane tried to hide it and be supportive of her, she knew he didn't think Arianna would be coming home. It seemed like everytime a Merchant was reaped, everyone sighed and went home, knowing there would be no winner this year. She tried hard not to doubt.

The interviews were that day, and Aubrey couldn't have been more nervous. She didn't know what angle Arianna was going for, and it might be the last time she saw her sister before she died. No, she wouldn't die. It was hard trying to keep up the positive thoughts when all she could think was negative thoughts. Arianna's gonna die like this, Arianna's gonna die like that . . . etc. It wasn't easy getting rid of the many death scenes her mind had unknowingly created.

Aubrey wanted to watch the interviews in the safety of her own home, but the small TV in her house just wouldn't do. Zane dragged her to the Square, weaving through everyone who crowded around the screen. It wasn't hard, with everyone moving away like she was last year's Victor. He murdered more than half the tributes, and he did it slow, savoring the moment. It was disturbing to watch, to put it lightly.

When they arrived at the front of the Square, they still had a few minutes to kill. No pun intended.

Zane wrapped his arms around Aubrey from behind, pressing her back against his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and sighed.

"She'll do okay. You should stop worrying about her."

She shook her head and smiled.

"How did you know I was worrying?"

"I thought we decided I know you better than you know yourself."

"We did. I just didn't think you'd catch on so quickly."

"Thanks a lot," he rolled his eyes and kissed her on the cheek.

Aubrey tried to smile again, but she just couldn't. No matter how many times Zane told her to relax, she couldn't. He didn't know how she felt, no matter how hard he tried. He didn't have a sibling in the games. Aubrey didn't want him to ever know the feeling, and she never wanted to feel it again either. If Cady went in to the games, her life would be over. The world might as well be over too. She might not really be close to her parents, but her sisters were her life. If Cady was in the Reaping, she would go to the Capitol and burn it down herself. She would probably volunteer for her, no, she _would_ volunteer for her. She loved her sister and would never want anything bad to happen to her. Aubrey's biggest regret was not doing the same for Arianna. She could be at home right now, living happily. And Aubrey was too cold hearted too live a happy life. She wasn't one to help people, and she didn't care about most people. There were only a select few.

Zane tapped her shoulder and let go of her waist with one arm, and keeping one around it and moved to her side.

Caesar Flickerman appeared on the screen, and Aubrey immediately started paying attention to him.

"Welcome, to the Forty-First annual Hunger Games! We have a few guests tonight, so listen up!"

Ugh, did he have to say that every year? It had gotten a little old around the thirty-second games. She had no doubt that he'd still be saying it thirty years from now. When would he realize that some people hated his guts?

He talked for about five hours, and Aubrey got so impatient to the point where she was ready to rip his head off off he didn't start already.

He started.

Aubrey smiled.

District one's girl came out—apparently her name was sparkle . . . Ugh. Just Ugh.

She was wearing a pink, glittery dress that stopped above the knee, and the skirt extended out at the bottom. The top had a ribbon that went right under her chest, (also pink) and her hair was (surprisingly) just a regular light brown hair, which was curled. She was beginning to think every kid from one had blonde hair. But they did keep the tradition with the green, sparkly—no pun intended—eyes.

She sat down on her chair, after giving the audience a spin they didn't ask for, and smiled sweetly at Caesar.

"How ya' doing?" she asked.

They talked for a bit, and Sparkle said that her approach was to be strong, and outsmart the others.

She talked for a little while more, revealing that she had some hidden secrets up her sleeve. With her training score of eight, Aubrey didn't doubt that.

The buzzer sounded—thank goodness—and she bounced off the stage with her district partner replacing her.

He was wearing a grey suit, with a white rose in the pocket.

He had piercing green eyes that looked like they were trying to figure out a hundred ways to play the crowd to get them to like him.

He seemed nice for a Career, and his name was Shine . . . yeah.

He had blonde hair, and he was pretty good looking.

He talked for awhile about his family, and he really sounded like he wanted to go home because of them, and not the honor or the money.

Aubrey chided herself.

 _Stop. He's just like every other Career._ She told herself. But for some reason, she didn't believe it.

He played the strong, humorous angle, but with hidden pain behind his jokes.

"Got any girls at home?" Caesar asked him, as he does with all handsome tributes.

He hesitated.

"At home . . . so, you mean they have to be at home right now?" he asked.

Hmm . . .

"Are you saying you have a girlfriend here?"

"Maybe . . ."

"You're dating Sparkle?!" Caesar exclaimed.

"What? No, oh no! God forbid, no. Oh! There's nothing wrong with her, but I'm—we're not dating."

"So . . . you've got someone else here." Caesar said.

Before Shine could reply, the buzzer rang.

He shrugged. "Guess you'll have to find out."

District Two was the same, brutal and excited.

Nobody else was interesting until they got to the girl from five.

She talked fast, and used her hands a lot. She was squirming like she got injected with kool-aid.

It was pretty boring until Jones Harrell came on stage. He had on a suit so black it looked blue. His hair was wild, like they attempted to brush it, but he pushed them away and messed his hair up more.

He mostly nodded his head and talked as much about killing people as possible.

His interview was really boring and weird until they asked him about Arianna.

He muttered a bunch of insulting names until Aubrey was literately strangling the air in front of her.

"Calm down. Not like he's gonna hurt Arianna," Zane tried to reassure her.

She knew better. Anything could happen, and anything would.

Finally, Arianna came on stage.

She looked amazing. Beautiful. A knockout.

She was wearing a red strapless dress, with gold patterns at the top, and a ribbon separated the bottom part, with was flowing all the way down to the floor. Her blonde hair was long and curled, with waves cascading down her back. Her makeup was red, full lips, with long black eyelashes, and light eye shadow.

Aubrey was lost for words.

Sure, Sparkle was pretty too, but Arianna radiated beauty like a star. Everything about her was just so natural.

Arianna basically floated over to her seat.

"Hello, Caesar," she said when he didn't say anything.

"Why . . . hello. That's quite the outfit you've got there." Caesar got himself together.

"Thank you."

"How about a spin or two? Or five?"

The crowed laughed and oohed as she spun. She sat down as things quieted down.

They talked about what she had planned for the games, and Arianna's mouth was twitching in that way it did when she was suppressing an evil smirk.

"Oh . . . I've got a plan alright. Something never done before. I can guarantee that _I will_ be the winner this year." Even as she said it, Aubrey saw a hint of sadness in her smile, and shining in her eyes. Almost as if she didn't want to say that.

Aubrey wondered what she had up her sleeve.

"Hmm, very mysterious. Any family?"

"Yes, actually. I have two sisters, who I love more than anything in the world. I'm sorry for leaving them. Not like I had a choice, but I would have loved to stay at home. The Capital's extravagant-ness almost makes up for it."

"Going back to how beautiful you look tonight, you _must_ have a guy back home. What's his name?"

"Oh . . . she blushed and looked down. "No, no guy. At home, at least."

Before Caesar could ask, the buzzer rang.

"That's all the time we have for tonight, I'm afraid!"

 _Yes_ , Aubrey thought. _You should be very afraid_. Arianna didn't give out that evil smirk for no reason. She had a plan, a plan that Aubrey had to believe would get her home.

* * *

After crawling their way out of the square to avoid her family, Aubrey and Zane ran off to the meadow. It was around eight o'clock. Her parents wouldn't start getting worried until around ten. She had a whole two hours (probably more, since she didn't care about curfew) until she had to go home.

She and Zane didn't waste anytime. They just lied in each other's arms and looked up at the sky.

"Do you ever wonder how your life is gonna go?" Aubrey asked.

"Huh?"

"You ever wonder what's gonna happen to you? You might think you're gonna have a long, bright future, then you die next week from a disease. You think you're gonna be happy and cheerful no matter what, then you lose everyone you love and become depressed. You think you're gonna be sad and miserable your whole life, and you are. Funny how life works, huh."

"Yeah," Zane said softly. "I guess it depends on how you handle things. You have to power through all of the shit and reach the light. But sometimes the light can be bad. Like if you're in a tunnel and the light is the end, where a cliff lies. Life is what you make of it. Maybe our lives are like this for a reason. Like in order for something big to happen that could save or destroy humanity, this has to happen."

Aubrey giggled.

"Since when did you become so deep?"

"I don't know. My life can be miserable. As long as I'm miserable for the rest of my life with you."

Awww. Zane could be so adorable sometimes. Even Aubrey's cold heart had to melt when he said things like that.

"Yeah. I agree. We could both die tomorrow, you know, " she said as she snuggled closer to him.

"Mmm, die of a horrible, long death," he said, nuzzling her neck. "Die from the cold, frostbite seeping into our bones."

"Or of the dying heat, our skin melting off," she giggled.

"I know. But at least we'll be together." Zane responded.

"Oh, you old sap."

Zane laughed.

"No, but I'm serious. I don't know how in the world we turned out to be a such a great couple, but I know I'll never leave you because we don't 'kiss enough'. Honestly, Merchants boys are so stupid. No offense."

Aubrey raised her eyebrows. "You calling me a boy?"

Zane paled. "No, no, oh gosh, no. I'm just trying . . . I meant . . . I . . ." Zane stuttered.

She laughed.

"I'm just kidding, chill."

He blushed. "Oh. But I also wanted to say . . ."

Aubrey smirked. "You trying to say something to me, Zane?"

"Yeah," Zane smiled. "I'll always be there for you."

Aubrey took in a breath. She knew their relationship wouldn't turn out like her parents', because if he even touched a bottle of alcohol, she would kill him on the spot.

Ah, love.

"Thank you. And the same goes for you."

They lied there, until it was twelve o'clock, and they both cursed and rushed home. They both ran home with a smile, though.

If they got caught, it was worth it.

It would always be.


	8. Chapter Eight

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **This was my favorite chapter to write, and honestly I was writing chapter 7, but I was so excited while listening to music that I just had to write this while I'm in a great mood! This is the chapter where what our friend Aubrey said, will be used. There are so many surprises coming up in these next few chapters, you will just die. Not literally, though. But other people will.**

 **Chapter Eight: Who's Laughing Now?**

Today was a Sunday, and Aubrey couldn't have been more nervous. She was literally feeling butterflies in places she didn't know she could (were they supposed to be in her legs?), and Zane said he would come get her at 9:55 so they could watch the games in the Town Square. She didn't really want to be around all those people, but her little TV at home wouldn't cut it, and she wanted to see every moment, even her death.

"Stop it!" Aubrey scolded herself. She couldn't afford to think like that, and she really did believe Arianna would come home.

She continued to pace in her house, rubbing her palms together and trying not to think of disturbing thoughts.

A few seconds later, Zane knocked on the door and saved her from her dark thoughts.

Her whole family planned on going to the square, but she didn't want to be around them. They didn't believe in Arianna and neither did anyone else, but she just wanted to be with herself and Zane. And even if Zane didn't believe in Arianna, he was very supportive of her.

He smiled at her and she attempted to smile back at him, but it quickly turned into a grimace.

"Hey," Zane pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay."

"How do you know?" Aubrey was sick and tired of people telling her not to worry. _Oh, your sister is going into a death match, but you shouldn't be worried at all!_

"Because as long as we have each other, we'll get through this."

She sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the square. Her family had already left, so when she saw them in the very back, she picked a spot right in the front. The screen was raised up, so you could see the games from wherever you were in the square. People made a huge path for her, and she knew it happened to everyone who had a family member in the games. She noticed her family had a big circle of empty space around them.

After waiting a few minutes, the screen cut on, and Aubrey cringed. It was a desert, filled with sand and rocks. There were no trees anywhere she could see, just miles of dirt and rocks. One path lead to a dry, dusty wide spread area, and another lead to small rocks that got bigger as you went farther down. The cornucopia had food and weapons scattered around it.

"Let the games begin!" Claudius Templesmith shouted.

She instantly found Arianna, and followed her line of sight to the District three boy, who was looking between her and the girl from district five. _What?_ It was probably just a coincidence. Then she looked over at the District One boy—what was his name? Sinny? Shin? no, _Shine_. Her eyes filled with an emotion that was gone as quick as it came. Too quick to decipher. He nodded his head at her, and she looked determined.

 _59._

Arianna started to take off her jacket, which must have been for the cold nights that were sure to come. Aubrey groaned. She knew that she had to get sponsors, but did she really have to be naked again to get them? Aubrey was confused when she ripped the sleeves off and balled them up, and she saw the District three boy doing the same, and the District five girl. They started to take off their shoes, socks, and belts. Then they started ripping it up until they each had seven pieces in their hands.

 _26._

Their eyes fell on the tributes around them, District Two's girl on Arianna's right, and District Seven's boy on her left.

 _24._

She heard confused murmurs from the people around her, and she saw the three look at each other and nod. Aubrey gasped and her eyes went wide, because she knew what her sister was going to do. She knew exactly and if the plan went how it was supposed to, her sister just might make it out after all.

 _18._

Suddenly, they all balled up their seven items, and looked at the seven tributes around them.

 _15._

The 7 kids around Arianna were District six's boy, District three's girl, District eight's boy, District ten's boy and girl, plus the girl from two and the boy from seven.

 _14._

Then, they started to throw their items at them with precise aim. It must have taken all three days of training plus more to do what they did. Aubrey already knew her sister had a good aim, though.

Everyone in the square started screaming out in confusion and then realization, and people were crying, laughing, screaming, passing out. It was chaos. But somehow, Aubrey didn't seem to hear them. All she could see was her sister and 21 tributes simultaneously blowing up. Dirt and sand was flying up into the air in only the certain tributes area, and there was blood, body parts, and fabric shooting up in the sky.

 _8._

When it all suddenly stopped, there was nothing left of the blown up tributes except some blood stains on the ground. And there was 3 seconds left.

 _3._

 _2._

 _1._

Arianna, the boy from three, and the girl from five ran to the cornucopia. They picked up weapons and started fighting each other.

Arianna threw a knife at District Three's face and he ducked, but it sliced his eyebrow. The other girl sneaked behind Arianna while she was focused on the boy and stabbed her right arm. Arianna whirled around cursing and pulled out the knife. She kicked the girl and stabbed her with her good arm that wasn't bleeding, which happened to be her dominant arm, her left.

She hit her eye with her knife and twisted it around inside of her eye socket unitl the cannon sounded as she fell to the ground. Arianna looked at the boy, and he ran away. Arianna grabbed a mace, and ran after him. Aubrey didn't know she could swing one, but she must have learned during training. She swung it at his back, and he leaned forward.

He ran again and Arianna picked up a pack of knives. She threw knife after knife, and almost each one hit him. There were knives all in his back, and he stopped running because he couldn't run anymore.

Arianna swung her mace at his head, but he ducked and stabb7ed Arianna in her stomach with a sword. She bent over, and her stomach started gushing blood and other stuff she didn't want to know what it was, but she stood up holding it all in, and swung the mace as hard as she could. If she didn't hit him, Aubrey knew she was dead.

It slammed into his head.

His head rolled off.

Everyone turned silent and looked at the screen as Arianna's hand fell to her side in what Aubrey saw as slow motion, and her eyes rolled backwards and she dropped the mace and fell to the ground. The trumpets sounded, and Everyone started screaming and yelling and Aubrey cried tears of joy and was jumping up and down and Zane swung her around. Everyone was beyond themselves with joy.

"I—I give you the Victor of the 41st Hunger Games, Arianna Oric!" Claudius yelled.

Aubrey saw Bronc in the corner of her eye and he was coming her way.

When he reached her, he opened his mouth to speak, but Aubrey cut him off.

"No! Don't speak!" Aubrey walked away

Bronc kept walking towards her.

"What? What do you want?"

"I-I wanted to say sorry. I'm sorry."

Aubrey smiled at him. She was so happy she didn't care.

"You know what? Whatever! My sister just won, and I'll be living in the Victors Village, and I'll be rich as fuck, and you can no longer tease me and say I'm poor and not a Merchant, because I'll be better than you, and my sister is coming home! So go shove your fake apology up your ass before I shove my foot up there! Don't talk to me and we won't have any problems. And I can see your girlfriend coming over here, so bye!"

She pushed him away and met Payton halfway.

"So, your stupid sister won after all." Aubrey didn't rise to the bait like she usually would have.

"Oh, I wouldn't say stupid, she just outsmarted all of the other tributes, so I wouldn't talk if I were you. Wanna tease me? About what? That I'm poor? Have a dead sister? Because those things aren't true!" She grabbed Zane's arm and pulled him out of the square. She knew people would be coming to apologize and suck up to her so she would give them stuff and hopefully take pity on them and give them money, but after what they did and what they said, she knew there was no way she would forgive them. They wanted to make and spread rumors, now they can eat her dust. And oh, she would make sure they would.

They would pay for everything they'd ever done.

And good for her, but bad for everyone else, Aubrey was feeling especially devious.

It had been a good start to the day.

* * *

It had been a week since her sister had won, and the interviews were that day. Aubrey was so nervous. She was afraid her sister had died, or she was messed up in the head, like the Victor from a few years back. He saw a Career skin a tribute, layer by layer, and use the skin for clothes. He was so sick when he won, he couldn't eat a thing for weeks, and they had to feed him through a tube. They had to knock him out because every time he saw skin he freaked out. After he got over that, he stole morphling and became the first ever morphling addict for District Six. Then they all started doing it, and that's how they came to be. It was easy to smuggle stuff into District Six, with all of the equipment going in and out.

She didn't know the full extent to what happened to Victors, and how messed up their heads became, but everyone with eyes who watched the Victors while they were watching the re-runs of their games knew how they felt. If they cheered they were either Careers, or they were just simply born in the wrong district. If they were quiet and shrunken back in their chairs, they were embarrassed, and just wanted to shrink into nothing, or they just didn't want to speak about it. If they were constantly looking away, they could barely stand to watch it. And lastly, if they kept their eyes on it the whole time, they were determined, but did not approve.

But of course, no one really approved of the games. No matter how much they cheered or how much they seemed to love the games, no one liked the games. It was all an act, and being from a Career District meant they had to be tough, act or no act. It's just the way the Capitol saw them. And if they were to be weak, people would treat them differently.

Even though most of the people from the Capitol loved the games, not _everyone_ did. There would always be a group of people trying to end the games as long as they existed. For each person in the Capital who hated the games, there were hundreds who didn't. Some people say the people from the Capitol don't know any better than to love the games. But what about when the rebellion ended, and the games started? The people back then loved the games, and they knew better. Those were the people that raised everyone in the Capitol who lived there now. Did they really know better? If they were born in the Districts would they act the same? If the people born in the Districts were born in the Capitol, would _they_ act the same?

Aubrey never considered that maybe being born in the Capitol instead of the Districts wasn't their fault. They just happened to to born where there was unlimited food and loved the games. If _she_ was born in the Capitol maybe she would know how you were raised is out of your control. But they should know better. They shouldn't need someone to tell them. It's like a new born baby breathing for the first time. It was depending on something else, but it has to eventually breathe on it's own.

Even if they were brainwashed, there comes a certain time in one's life where they should know the difference between right and wrong.

She didn't feel like getting into the deep stuff, so she came back to the world.

Her family gathered around the small TV. They hadn't wanted to go to the square because of all the people there who would be eyeing them as if they were their next meal. If those people thought they would get money, they were delusional. She still wasn't talking to her family, or her parents to be clearer. Her little sister had been completely oblivious to what was going on, as Aubrey was trying to be as protective as she could.

The show started, and Caesar Flickerman was there, in his classic midnight blue suit, and bright, so bright it was almost blinding, yellow makeup and hair.

She watched as the prep teams came onto the stage, bouncing and waving, as if they did a good job. Next the escort Kerri Klark came on stage, surprisingly sporting a short, blonde haircut, ending at the point where her shoulder meets her was wearing a tight, peacock printed short sleeved dress that flowed out at the end like a skater-girl skirt, with black see through-ish tights and eight inch purple spiky heels. She almost looked normal, or as close as you could get to normal in the Capitol.

Next came the stylist, with a bright smile on her face and she looked like a . . . horse? No, it was more like a unicorn. She had on a purple body suit with a white tail, and her hair was between the ears on her head, which was behind the bright, rainbow colored horn plastered on her forehead.

Aubrey slapped her face into her palm and sighed a long, deep sigh. The stylist looked like such an idiot, she wanted to reach through the TV and smack her with reality.

Usually the mentor came next, but District Twelve had no mentor, so Arianna rose up from under the ground.

She was clad in a tight red strapless dress that ended mid-thigh, with a sweetheart neckline. There were also black fishnets tights on her legs. She had on leather finger-less gloves, with a choker around her neck, and four inch high heels. Her hair was down and curled, thrown over her right shoulder. She had dark makeup on, with dark purple lips, and black eyeliner.

She looked . . . beautiful. Deadly, but beautiful. And Aubrey loved it.

Her sister looked like the ultimate badass, and the outfit she was wearing looked like something Aubrey would wear if she had a choice.

While the outfit looked deadly, Arianna's face looked dazed. She sat down in her chair, with a red cushion beneath it, and a gold outline. The show would only be minutes long, since she didn't even spend an hour in the Arena. It was decided that they would do the interview right then and there, after watching the re-run of her games.

Caesar complimented her on her outfit, made a few jokes, and the show began.

Aubrey didn't watch the games, she watched her sister face. Arianna's eyes were trained on the screen, and they never left it. She cringed a few times, but she mostly looked confused, and was trying hard to look crazy and unbothered, like an _I do what I want_ attitude with a hint of _But I still care_. Aubrey lived with Arianna her whole life, so she knew when her sister was faking something.

After the viewing was over, the interview began.

"So . . . Arianna. Can you tell us what was going through your head when the gong started and the games began? Let us in on your plan."

Arianna took in a deep breath and rubbed her hands up and down her thighs.

"Well . . . I wanted, _needed_ to go home to my sisters, my family. I knew the other tributes were strong, and I couldn't outfight them. I knew the only way I would get back to them was to outsmart them. Ever heard the phrase 'Brains over brawn'?"

Caesar nodded his head and made a hand motion to make her keep talking.

"It was the only way. I guess the phrase is true, since I'm here, and they're not. Isn't that enough proof?"

"Yes, dear. Were the tributes from District Three and Five in on it?"

Arianna nodded her head.

"Yes. We made a pact that we would do what we did, and then fight each other. All during training we worked together on it. I didn't know if I could trust them but . . . I stuck to what I said I'd do. And so did they."

The rest of the interview passed through without anything happening. They talked about what she did during training, how she came up with the plan. Arianna said she remembered one year where the boy threw his shoes at two Careers beside him, and the idea struck her. **( A/N ;))**

When it was time for the crowning, President snow looked like he was about to explode. When he put the crown on Arianna's head, he smiled a cold, evil smile.

Something was wrong.

Sure, Arianna made it out of the Arena, and she didn't do anything rebellious like back talk or openly defy the Capitol. But she did use the Capitol's things against the other tributes. The Capitol never thought someone would risk doing that, and it made them look like fools. If there is one thing the Capitol doesn't like, it's looking like a fool.

It wasn't like she did anything that wasn't allowed, she just outsmarted some people.

Aubrey slowly realized that her sister victory wasn't a thing to be celebrated. Arianna would have been safer in the wooden box Jones Harrell was being shipped back in. The Capitol was going to strike back. And knowing President Snow, it wasn't going to be fair or pretty. One of them could die. _Arianna_ could die.

And Aubrey would be there for her through it all. That's what sisters do, they stick by each others sides through it all.

Even if Aubrey was a horrible friend, she was a great sister.


	9. Chapter Nine

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Omg When I wrote this chapter, I still hadn't written chapter 7. I managed to write two chapters ahead instead of just writing chapter 7. I'm thinking about doing a chapter in Arianna's POV, but idk, so let me know what you guys want. I added in a little Zubrey in for you too! (Btw, that's Zane and Aubrey's ship name. Either that or Aane, which sounds weird. Zanbrey, Aubrane . . . yeah, let's go with Zubrey.) I love the moment at the end between the two sisters. Their relationship is amazing to write, and so fun! If you have any problems with the story, feel free to say them! I'm posting this like three months after I wrote it . . . gosh, I'm ahead.  
**

 **Chapter Nine: You can Tell Me Anything ( Or, I Ain't worried 'bout Nothing . . .)  
**

Today was the day Aubrey got to see her sister. It was a Tuesday, which also meant no school since it was the day the tributes came home, dead or alive. It made no sense to Aubrey why they canceled random days instead of just canceling school for the whole event. Maybe sometime in the future.

She had gotten the best sleep of her life last night. She slept knowing the next day she would see her sister, and even though their impending deaths were on her mind too, that could be dealt with later.

She jumped off her 'bed' on the floor and went to the kitchen by following the smell of breakfast.

She gasped when she saw what was on the table. Fresh eggs scrambled to perfection, non-expired milk, slices of toast, and . . . orange juice?

"Ma!" Aubrey said, forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at her. "What is this?"

"Well, since we'll be moving into the Victors' house today, we won't need the money we have. I spent the rest of it giving us a good breakfast. We'll be in the house with the money by the next meal, so it won't matter anymore. I believe lunch will be more extravagant."

She was so happy she almost hugged her. Until she remembered the whole Arianna situation.

"Mhmm. Seems weird to me how you can use her money when you gave up hope on her."

"We didn't have a clue as to what she would do. Looking at those other tributes, she didn't stand a chance and you knew it. District Twelve doesn't teach anything other than mining and country history. Or, what they allow us to hear about it, I should say."

She did have a point. District Twelve doesn't teach you for you to become smart, they teach you so you can become a miner or a shop keeper. There's not much to mining but hitting rocks and hoping you don't die, and shop keeping is mostly taught by your parents. You're either born smart and you don't realize it, or you teach yourself to be smart. Aubrey always knew Arianna was clever, and when she wanted to, she could be sneaky.

Cady walked out of the bathroom and saw the breakfast.

"Oh my! Ma, this wasn't necessary!" She was just about screaming at the top of her lungs.

Aubrey laughed and was happy she still had _one_ oblivious sister.

They sat down to eat. It was the quietest breakfast their family had ever had. Their father was also nowhere to be found.

"Where's . . . dad?" Aubrey asked when they finished.

"He went to go get some more food. He should be back in a few."

Aubrey cleared the table and excused herself.

After changing into an almost knee length white dress with short sleeves, she opened the door.

"I'll be back to meet you guys at the station. Bye."

She left before anyone could say otherwise. Zane would usually be trading that day, but with the trains coming in and the Peacekeepers, he didn't think it was safe.

Smart guy.

Just at the mention of his name, Aubrey's face twitched up into a bright smile. She was actually happy for once, and the day was going good. The sun was shining, and there was a cool breeze running through town. The sunlight made her feel giddy, and the weather couldn't have been better. She was going to see Zane, her sister was coming home against all odds, and she would no longer sleep on the floor in her run down house. That day was a good day.

A _great_ day.

She started skipping as she neared the edge of town, and she just smiled when people gave her weird looks. She saw Zane coming out of the Seam, so she went up to meet him.

He looked up and smiled as he saw her coming towards him.

On the way there, someone bumped into her and dropped all the apples in their crate.

"Sorry," they mumbled and started picking up the apples.

"S'okay."

She giggled and helped them pick up the apples and told them to have a nice day. They looked at her weirdly before thanking her and walking off.

"Okay," Zane said as she hugged him. "Who are you and what have you done with Aubrey? Skipping? Smiling? Giggling? Helping strangers? Not getting pissed off when bumped into? Oh, you are definitely not Aubrey."

She laughed at him.

"I'm just in a really good mood. I get to see you, my sister isn't dead. I'm not poor anymore . . . Today is just a good day. And I love the sunlight." Zane raised an eyebrow at her. "I know, I know, it seems like I should like hail and thunderstorms, but every time I see the sunlight shining through the windows and everywhere else, I just get so happy, and I just know it's gonna be a good day. I also love rain. I love to play in it and feel the cool water against my skin."

"So . . . you're a plant, that's what you're saying."

She slapped his arm.

"No! Why would I be a plant?"

"You love rain and sunlight . . . sounds like a plant to me. Maybe a sunflower or a daisy."

She scoffed.

"Yeah, well I'm not a plant, or a sunflower, or anything else . . . you know what, let's just go."

"Go where?"

Hmm. Where to go?

She had the perfect idea.

"Come on."

She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. She would make this day a good day, no matter what happened. If the world was trying to bring her down, she would fight harder to stay up.

They arrived in the meadow a few minutes later.

It was beautiful.

The flowers had sprouted, and colors ranging from red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, green, pink, and even white, were littering the grass. The sunlight was perfect against the colors, and the grass was a bright green. It was even better then when they had first seen it that day they kissed . . .

Oh, they were going to have so much fun.

They ran around the meadow, chased each other, played tag, guess the flower, and charades. They laughed and kissed and screamed like children. It was the best day they'd ever had together.

Later, at almost noon, they just lied in the grass holding hands and looking up at the blue sky.

"Today is the best day of my life . . . ever," Zane told her.

"Same. I wish I could stay here forever, but the train should be pulling up in a couple minutes, and I need to greet my sister."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that."

"You wanna come?" Aubrey really liked the idea of him properly meeting Arianna, seeing them get along, gossiping about him to Arianna . . .

"Yeah. I have to go with the district anyway. We can stop by my house and tell my mom not to wait for me."

They stood up and brushed themselves off. Just as they were about to start walking, Zane took his hands from behind his back (had they been there the whole time?), and handed Aubrey a handful of different color flowers, but mostly yellow ones. They were all so beautiful.

"Oh my . . ."

Zane blushed.

"I know they aren't nearly as beautiful as you, but I want you to have them."

It was Aubrey's turn to blush.

"This is so cliché. But thanks. How'd you know yellow was my favorite color?"

She tucked the flowers behind her ear.

She entwined their fingers together and they were off.

"I didn't, but I guess mother nature did. And I always thought your favorite color would be something aggressive like red."

She shook her head. "No, I like yellow the most because I feel like it's the most underrated color. People are so obsessed with the beautiful blues and reds and blacks of the world that they don't take the time to appreciate yellow. Yellow represents peacefulness, warmth, happiness, all good things. But a deep yellow can also radiate irritation and annoyance. I feel like that describes what I think I am. Peaceful on the outside and a bit within, but also ready to attack."

Zane chuckled.

"And here I thought you'd have some small reason like 'because the sun is yellow' which can be argued because we're seeing it from a distance and it's a ball of energy which would mean lots of varying colors—"

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Science Explanation. We get it. What are you gonna explain next, why the sky is blue?"

"Well it's actually a reflection off of the—"

"Okay," she laughed, "chill. There's no school today and I'm taking full advantage of that."

As they fell into a comfortable silence, she had to admit she was nervous about possibly seeing his mom. After that day of eavesdropping in the woods, she knew his mom didn't like Merchants, even though she used to.

She took a deep breath and soldiered on. She didn't want to appear weak, even if it was just Zane.

In a few minutes, they were at Zane's house. It was a one story dark blue house, with the paint chipping and peeling off in places. It looked run down like all the other houses in the Seam, but it also looked better. You could actually see what color his house was painted with. It also had two windows in the front.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

Zane went inside the house and closed the door behind him.

A few seconds later, she saw a small head peaked out from behind the curtains. The girl had long brown hair, with big . . . brown eyes? Every one in the Seam usually had grey, but a few had blue and other colors. Aubrey guessed she was one of them. It was like how some of the Merchants had light brown hair, especially the older ones, the ones with kids.

The girl looked no older than six. She waved at Aubrey, and Aubrey waved back. The little girl smiled and giggled, and disappeared from view.

Zane came back out again, and the little girl was hugging him.

"I'll see you later, Kiona."

"Kiona?" she asked when the door closed.

"Yeah. She's my cousin. My great-great grandparents were really into mythology. They studied it, but they didn't really believe in it. All their old books were lost in the war. I only have what stories they told my parents to go off on."

"Mythology?" She was sure he mentioned it before. "Oh yeah, gods and goddesses and stuff. We don't learn this type of stuff in school."

"Yeah. It was bigger back before the dark days. My mom used to tell me stories about them."

She didn't ask him about the 'used to.'

"Who was Kiona? Was she Egyptine, Romana or something like that?"

Zane laughed. "Egyptian, and Roman. And no, there are many forms of mythology for different beliefs. She was named after Khione, the goddess of the North Wind, and winter. Daughter of Boreas. At least that's what my mom told me. No one really knows a lot about it anymore."

"Cool." She'd heard a lot about what people used to believe in back before the dark days, but she'd never heard about mythology, except from what she knew from Zane.

 **( A/N As some of you know, I've recently finished the two Percy Jackson series. As in recently, I mean two days ago. Ugh, dammit. I really hate posting prewritten chapter A/N's because the dates don't match up. Well, if you care, today is September 20th, 2015, so I finished the book on the 18th. Anyway, I just had to. Even though Khione was a bitch, but she was still how *SPOILER* Leo met Calypso. Oh, spoiler. lol)**

They walked to the square. It was filled up with the District, but they parted for Aubrey.

They still had a few minutes to wait, so she rested her head on Zane's shoulder and sighed contently. Life was good right now, and she knew it wouldn't last forever.

The train pulled up a few minutes later, and Aubrey squeezed Zane's hand in excitement.

She saw her sister waving from the window, and as the District cheered for her, Aubrey was the loudest, and the happiest by far.

The train doors opened, and Arianna ran towards Aubrey. She let go of Zane's hand and met her sister halfway.

They spun each other around, screaming and crying. She didn't care how they looked, neither of them did. All that mattered was that they were together, and nothing would tear them apart.

After screaming for a few more minutes, they met the rest of their family. Aubrey had whispered to her how they didn't believe in her, and all Arianna did was nod.

She hugged her mother and father hesitantly, but warmly, and she picked up Cady and spun her around as she squealed in delight.

Zane joined her again, and they set off the go move their stuff into the Victors' Village.

* * *

After moving into their new house and receiving a tour, Zane went home. They had already eaten lunch, and they had been in the room for about an hour. Aubrey and her sister still lay on the bed together upstairs. Despite the house having five gazillion rooms, they decided to room together. They lied next to each other on their backs, holding hands.

Arianna drew patterns with her finger on her stomach where the shirt revealed her skin. Aubrey saw her scar from when the boy from 3 stabbed her, although it was barely there, just enough to remind her of what happened.

They lied in silence until Arianna said, "It's good to be home."

Aubrey sighed. "It's good to have you home."

"I missed you guys so much, and I was only gone for two weeks. I don't wanna leave again."

"Don't leave again, then. Problem solved."

Arianna laughed with no humor. "It's not that simple. I've gotta mentor. Well, I might not if he goes through with his plan . . . And . . . they've . . . offered me a choice, which I took to keep you guys alive . . ."

"What kind of choice?"

"You really wanna know?"

"You can tell me anything."

"You're only fourteen."

"I've seen too much, heard too much, and been through too much to be only fourteen. Spill."

Arianna could tell Aubrey anything. They had always shared their secrets with each other, and they were very close, even with the two year difference.

"They . . . They want me to . . . _entertain_ guys. They said if I didn't they'd kill you all. President snow said I made the right choice. I was just the age limit to do it."

"Entertain? That's a load of bull."

"I know, right?"

"So . . . you're saying they want you to—"

"Aubrey, don't say the really blunt version of what I said. I know you get it."

Aubrey sighed. "But that's crazy! Why would he want you to do that? He's a sick bastard, that's what he is."

"Damn right."

"Have you already . . . ?"

"One guy. It was horrible, but not bad enough for me to not be able to joke about it. He acted all nice and shy at dinner, then we we went to his house he was all mean and commanding. And that little shit made me pay for dinner."

Aubrey knew she shouldn't, but she laughed. Oh, she missed her sister. She turned a bad situation into a... less horrible one. She didn't hide her pain and feeling behind her words, though. She let you know how she felt, and she didn't sugar coat.

"How rude. Did he at least put out?"

Arianna laughed, but with her usual humor this time. "Oh yeah. It doesn't mean I liked it though. The whole time I kept imagining what it would be like if it was with . . ."

"With . . . ?"

"Two people, actually. It's complicated."

Aubrey remembered the guy from District One, and how he and Arianna both said they had no one at home, but people at the games . . .

"Was it . . . Wine?"

Arianna scoffed, but smiled. "Shine. He was sweet, and not at all like the regular Careers. He was willing to die for me. He was the only person I told about the plan, and he even helped me on it. It was so fun to sneak around the training room and the building we were staying at with him. I wish I could bring him back, wish I didn't have to do what I did. But he told me to win. To win for him, and win for you guys."

Aubrey stayed silent, but squeezed her hand.

"And?"

"That hunk, Josh."

"Josh?"

"Yeah. I think his real name is Joshua, though."

Aubrey almost choked.

"Does he have brown hair? Brown eyes?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"He . . . He's Zane's brother!"

Arianna blushed. "Oh. Oh. Wait, who's Zane?"

Aubrey smirked.

"He was just at the tour. That guy was Zane."

"Okay. Josh just seems like a jerk sometimes."

Aubrey laughed. "Oh, he is. But he's a good jerk. He is kinda cocky at times, but when you get to know him, he's funny and sweet."

"That's good. I just hope he makes me feel as good as Shine."

"Did you guys . . . ?" Aubrey asked.

Arianna blushed a bit. "It was a desperate moment. We both thought we were gonna die, so we did it."

Aubrey poked her in the stomach. "Oh, you player, you."

The silence came back, but it was a comfortable silence, the kind that wasn't weird.

After a couple minutes, they started talking again, until they talked for hours.

They both ended up falling asleep either really late at night, or really early in the morning. Good thing they had already eaten dinner.

Kinda.


	10. Chapter Ten

**The Living Games**

 **A/N ****Hey, peoples! I thought today would be a great day for the guys and the gals to hangout together, you know, two pairs who could possibly become couples in the future. Well, on already** ** _is_** **a couple, but you get my drift. Gosh,** **I've** **never even said that before. What's happening to me!? I don't really know where I'm going to go with Josh and Arianna, Jarianna. Ooh, I love their ship names. Jarianna, Zubrey. They might not become a couple, Idrk. But I just looooove writing Zubrey scenes! Yes, I know she's only 14, but it's just so fun. The feels hit, and I hate when the moment ends. So this is kind of like the calm before the storm, so look out for that storm that's sure to hit our favorite girl soon! Ah, don't you just love making characters suffer? It always turns out well in the end, but the journey is so fun to create. But reading about them is a whole 'nother story. Toodle oo!**

 **Oh, btw, there's some information in this chapter that, when I choose to reveal it, will shock you. like, kill you. he he, oh, the mystery. I found a way to do it after all. Zane just can't get away from victors, can he. *wink***

 **I just realized you probably understood none of that. Oh. Well, sorry!**

 **Oh! And today is the anniversary of me joining this site! It's officially been one year, yay! I'd like to thank my mom, my dad, my sister, Just kidding! But seriously, I love you guys! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Ten: Hangout day**

Aubrey woke up in a room with the sun shining through the big windows. She rolled over to get off of her hay bed on the floor, but was surprised to find she wasn't _on_ the floor.

She rolled off the edge of the bed and hit the ground with a _thud!_

"What in the name . . . ?"

Yesterday came flashing back to her. The meadow. Her sister coming home. Talking about Shine. She then remembered that they had moved into a new house. She got up and brushed herself off. The clock beside her bed read 11:08.

She had no idea how she slept that long. She was an early riser, so she was usually up way earlier. Mostly because she was used to waking up for school, but school was canceled that day because of the Victor that came home, a.k.a, her sister.

Aubrey saw a light under the bathroom door, and knew Arianna was in there.

She went downstairs smiling, and saw her mother cooking something on the stove.

"Mornin' ma," she said.

Her mother nodded towards her, and Cady smiled a big, bright smile at her.

She sat down at the table and made small talk as she waited for Arianna to come down. When she did, her face looked like she was doing fine, but Aubrey saw right through it. Her smile was forced, and her eyes held a bit of fear.

"Nightmares?" Aubrey whispered in her ear as she sat down next to her. Her sister told her about them, and even described some of them.

"No. Just a few unwanted images. Sleeping next to you helped a bit. They aren't as bad as some of the other Victors' since they were in there for weeks longer than me," she whispered back.

Aubrey nodded her head and dug into her breakfast.

After finishing, she went upstairs and got ready in a way she never had before. She had the best brush, and the best clothes she could ever possibly ask for. She decided to go with blue jean shorts, with a grey sleeveless top. Where the armpit of it was, it drooped down to show the sides of her black bra.

She brushed her barely over the shoulder length hair, and threw on a white fake pearl bracelet. After a few minutes of deciding, she put on some Capitol designer lip gloss.

She put on some white sandals and re-brushed her hair for no reason.

When Arianna came up the stairs, she immediately went to the closet, and came out in white high-waisted shorts, a black crop top that showed just a little bit of her stomach, and some black knee-high boots.

"Wow . . ." Aubrey whispered. She looked beautiful, with her long, blonde hair in a braid, and tossed onto her shoulder.

"So," Arianna said, ignoring her sister's words. "What are we doing today?"

"I, um, planned on seeing Zane today. I wanted you to meet him properly."

"Okay. Where to?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out. Come on!" She grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs.

"We're going out!" she yelled to her mom

"Okay! Stay out of trouble and—"

She pulled the door closed before her mother could finish, still gripping a giggling Arianna's hand.

They ran to Town, avoiding desperate people and ignoring the stares. Aubrey saw Zane up ahead, right by where she wanted to go. She was about to call out to him, when a voice behind her yelled, "BOO!"

She screamed, turned around, and punched whoever was behind her on instinct.

"AH! What the hell?! Son of a—"

"Josh!" Aubrey screamed when she saw him on the ground. He was holding his right eye, and grimacing.

She smirked.

"Why'd you punch me?"

"Sorry, instinct," she said, but she didn't sound or look sorry at all.

"Whatever."

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

He stood up and brushed himself off. "I'm here with your boyfriend. He told me to come with him. Didn't tell me why, though. Just mentioned "getting a social life" and "seeing the sun"."

Aubrey looked at Arianna, and saw her holding back a blush.

"Mhmm, I know you don't see the sun much."

She pulled him by his arm and led him over to Zane.

"Was this your idea?" she asked as he engulfed her in a hug.

"Yeah. I thought they could use it."

He hid his face under her hair, and kissed her neck, leaving the skin he touched tingling. He kissed that spot of hers she liked, right below her jawline, and she bit back a moan.

"Zane!" she hissed. "Not in front of everyone!"

He let go of her and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. But you owe me a full exploration of your neck later."

She smirked and said, "Whatever you want." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, or tried to, but he held her for a bit longer.

"Is that lip gloss?" he asked, smacking his lips when he let go.

Aubrey blushed. She had forgotten about it.

"Yeah. Designer."

He raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, turning to see her sister talking with Josh.

After clearing her throat, they were off to the meadow.

"Oh, you wanted us to be here," Arianna said, gasping as she saw its beauty.

"Pretty, right?" She said smirking.

They sat down across from each other, Aubrey and Zane on one side, Arianna and Josh on the other.

"So, how's it been here while I was gone?" Arianna asked the group.

The three of them exchanged glances.

"Uhh . . ."

"Well . . ."

"About that . . ."

Arianna raised an eyebrow. "Spill."

"Aubrey turned into a badass!" Josh yelled.

"Josh!" she and Zane yelled at the same time.

"What, you know it's true."

"What do you mean?" Arianna asked, confused.

"She kicked this girl's ass like three times, and then she beat up a guy!"

"You WHAT!?"

Aubrey cleared her throat calmly. "She provoked me."

"You sent her to the apothecary."

"You WHAT?!"

"She just needed a bit of talking to."

"She couldn't get up off the floor, and we had to carry her to the nurse," Zane chipped in.

"WHAT!"

"It was a crazy time okay? To sum it up, Payton got on my nerves, so I beat her up, Bronc got on my nerves too, so I beat him up, and mom is okay with Seam people now!"

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. She said she only didn't like them because she didn't was us to be poor or something."

"That . . . explains a lot."

"I know, right?"

"Okay . . . away from the craziness, how long have you two been together?"

Aubrey looked at Zane, who was looking at her.

"Umm . . ." she exchanged a look with Zane. "About two and a half weeks, I guess."

Arianna squealed.

"Oh, you guys are just too cute!"

Aubrey and Zane exchanged glances again.

"Okay . . ."

"How many times have you kissed? Have you ever given her a hickey? Where's the spot she likes most? Oh, have you guys made out for more than three min—"

"ARIANNA!" Aubrey yelled.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Aubrey sighed. "I lost count, yes, that's none of your business, and yes." She glared at her sister.

"Squeeee!" Did she forget to mention her sister was totally obsessed with people's relationships? Because she was.

Aubrey remembered something she had wanted to ask Zane.

"Hey, who's in your family again? The one you live with."

Zane looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Well, let's see, there's my mom, my step dad—"

"He's from the Seam?"

Zane snorted.

"Of course. Anyway, I have Josh, and our other brother, who would be . . . 9 now, I think. My mom kicked him out of the house and now he lives in the foster home. My mom kicked him out because he looked like a Merchant, with his blonde hair and blue eyes, and my mother hates Merchants. She wouldn't take our pleas, and now there is no way to find him. It's been years since I've last seen him. Wish I could've helped him, but I know there was nothing I could've done. Umm, anyway, my stepfather's last name is Vison (ugh)—but I still use my real dad's last name."

Aubrey was shocked. She had known about his family, but she didn't know about his other brother.

"Hey . . . Arianna? Can I talk to you for a second?" Josh asked nervously, interrupting Aubrey's thoughts.

"Sure?" she asked more than said.

She jumped up and the walked away.

"Guess it's just you and me," Aubrey said, letting the last subject go.

"Yeah. And _you_ just happen to owe me an exploration."

Aubrey rolled her eyes at him, but didn't complain. Why would she?

She turned to him and straddled his waist, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pushing his back on the ground so she was lying on top of him.

He started with a long, passionate kiss that left her breathless and gasping for air. He flipped them over, hovering over her, and moved on to her neck, placing soft kisses that made her want to melt, and shudder with each one. He reached the bottom of her ear, kissing so softly she shivered hard. He nibbled on her earlobe and pulled on it gently, making her moan, and she didn't try and hold it back. She could feel Zane smiling against her face.

"Oh, shut up."

Zane laughed against her skin, and she shivered again.

He moved back down her neck, until he reached her collarbone, placing one last soft kiss that made her want to ask him not to stop. He kissed her so gently, it was as if he was afraid to hurt her. They were such soft kisses that she couldn't help but long for another one. He did kiss her on the lips again, so she was happy with that.

He kissed her deeply, and she was pretty sure she was just a puddle by the time he pulled away and got off of her.

"They're coming back," he said in a breathless, husky tone that jabbed her in the heart and she just had to kiss him again.

"Let them see us. I don't give a—"

"Gosh, Aubrey. You curse like a sailor. You know how awkward it would be if they caught us like this."

"Ugh, fine," she said as she took a seat beside him, and laced their fingers together.

"Have a nice . . . talk?" Aubrey asked when they reached them, trying to get her feelings under control.

"Yeah . . . have a nice . . . whatever you two did?" Arianna asked, blushing.

"Oh, um, we just . . . talked too." Aubrey stuttered.

"Mhmm. Is that why your faces are flushed, hair a little tangled, and lips a bit swollen? Looks to me like you've been busy," Josh said.

"Shut the f—"

"It's none of your business," Zane said, glaring at Aubrey, stopping what she was about to say.

They both rolled their eyes.

"Whatever. Wanna play a game?"

For the next few hours, the all played games, ran around, yelled at each other, teased one another, and they each blushed at least five times. When they finally stopped, it was around five, according to Zane's watch.

Arianna and Josh said goodbye to each other.

"I'm gonna miss you," Aubrey said, her voice muffled against Zane's chest.

"I'm gonna miss you, too."

"Promise you won't have too much fun without me?" she asked.

"Promise."

He hugged her for a bit more, finally letting go after a minute.

He kissed her on the tip of her nose.

"I think I've fallen for you," he whispered, for her ears only.

She smiled. "I think I have too," she said, without missing a beat.

He kissed her sweetly on the lips, keeping it short.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked.

"See you tomorrow," she said.

She turned and saw Arianna hugging Josh, and when they broke apart, the four headed their separate ways.

* * *

"So," Aubrey asked, on their way home. "What did Josh want to talk about?"

"He wanted . . . He told me he liked me, but only as a friend. He told me that he was asexual, and something might've been there if he wasn't. He didn't want to lead me on, and let me think something could happen when nothing would. It sounds mean, but I really appreciated it. He made some joke about pineapples, then he turned around and saw you and Zane making out, and said he'd better go ruin the moment," she said, giggling.

Aubrey blushed. "He interrupted that moment? Why, that little—"

"Aubrey, calm down. It was nothing serious, anyway."

Aubrey sighed and they continued their walk home in comfortable silence, both thinking about one of two brothers.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Here we are again! This is a bump in the road for our favorite group! This will be the storm, I guess. Then what's going to happen next will be the storm getting bigger, and bigger, until you've got storm so big no one will survive. Ha ha, the fun! Hmm, remember that time something happened when you expected something else to happen? No? Okay, well that was very vague. Mhmkay, well, think back to the Reaping. Lol, that's all I can say, sorry! Well, that assumption is gonna come up soon. Along with a time lapse, because life is going to get boring, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about every detail. If you noticed, I changed Aubrey's age to 14 because I felt like skipping two years was a bit much. The most they've ever skipped in the book (not counting the epilogue) was six or seven months. So she's 14 now, but Zane's still 15, and Arianna and Josh are still 16. Without further ado, here comes the (boom! Sorry, I'm such a weirdo) climax. Well, one of them. I know there's only (usually) supposed to be one, but who ever does things like they're supposed to be done? Well, except Betty McCloud before the institute. Oh my, I'm mixing fandoms again. Sorry, I've just been feeling really into _The Girl Who Could Fly_ lately, especially since Victoria Forester waited 7 years to make the sequel. Sorry bought that (How many times am I gonna say sorry?). Okay! Story time! How did this get a whole paragraph longer than it's supposed to be?**

 **Chapter Eleven: No Amount of Mist Could Change My Mind**

Almost a week had passed since Arianna had come home. Things were beginning to settle down, and people we starting to stop treating them like outcasts.

Aubrey yawned and rolled over, finally used to the idea of being rich. Well, maybe _used to_ was a bit generous, but she didn't fall on the floor again like she had every day before that.

School was canceled the whole week, so it wouldn't be back again until Monday. Thank goodness.

She went downstairs to find a note lying on the kitchen table.

 _Going out to shop. Be back later. Cady is with us. Go get some fruit for a pie, and no inviting boys into the house!_

— _Mother & Father_

She snorted.

Okay . . . so her parents weren't going to be home. That would be the perfect time for some Merchant girls to sneak their boyfriends in their house.

Aubrey didn't really see the point in sneaking someone into the house when she could just bring them in and no one would care. But some time with Zane would be nice, and it was hard not hearing his jokes and stupidity all the time.

After eating breakfast, Aubrey went upstairs into the entertainment room and turned on the TV. It was boring. Just old games replays, and Victors being interviewed. Plus weird Capitol dramas about damsels in distress. She really didn't need anymore drama or damsels in her life.

She rolled her eyes and left the room.

She was bored and she had nothing to do. Her parents took Cady with them, and who knows where Arianna went off to.

She groaned and got ready for the day. She guessed she was going to be stuck in the house bored all day, so she just put on some navy blue sweatpants, and a matching jacket.

Aubrey groaned again when she remembered she had to go get some fruit. Looked like she was going to have to go outside after all

 _Might as well take care of that now_.

She stood up and left her room, then she realized she put the jacket on backwards so the hood was on her chest.

 _Fuck it._

She shrugged and left the house.

Little did she know what was about to happen.

A cool breeze ran through the district, warming up the summer air.

Aubrey sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She hadn't gotten to see Zane since their fun day in the meadow with their siblings. He was a little behind on hunting because of the Peacekeepers, but they had finally left the district so it was hunting time for him. Unfortunately for her, hunting time meant no Zane time. She missed him, and she just wanted to see him. She only had to wait until school started again on Monday, then she'd jump on him and attack him with kisses.

She rolled her eyes. She was starting to sound lovesick and clingy.

She walked a little faster, anxious to hurry up with shopping so she could go home. The cool breeze was quickly turning into a chilly wind, and she was glad she was wearing what she was.

Once she finished picking up a basket of fruit, she hurried home. She was in the middle of Town, so it'd still be a bit of a walk.

She was almost to the edge of Town when a cold, wet wind swept through the air, chilling her to the bone and making her shiver. She pulled her jacket tighter to her, but it didn't help much. The she saw it.

A white, milky mist was seeping into the air. It was almost like you could see the wind. A bunch of people came by to check it out. One boy sniffed it, and exclaimed that it smelt like peaches and spices.

More people started sniffing it, swaying and giggling. Soon, the mist was everywhere. Between the shops, down the roads, high in the air. Aubrey didn't know why, but she got a feeling she didn't want to take a whiff of this smoke, or whatever it was.

She pulled her jacket off, shivering hard, and stuffed it over her nose.

She swore she even saw some Peacekeepers holding tubes that looked like giant hoses, but it was pouring out gas.

She started running. To where, she didn't know

She found herself in the Seam. The poor, skeletal framed kids were sniffing the air and laughing, like they were extremely intoxicated, A.K.A her father.

She turned around and ran towards her home. Her mother said she was going with her father to shop somewhere and they brought Cady, so it'd just be her big sister home. That's why she was surprised to see her sister walking through town and the mist, not even affected or surprised.

"Ari? What's going on?" she asked when she reached her.

Her sister looked grim and dark with the cold hair whipping her hair around. The mist was flying all around her, but she didn't even crack a smile.

"I—It's the punishment. He wasn't lying! Aubrey, hold your breath. That jacket won't last for long. Where's mum? And where's dad? Oh my gosh! Where's Josh and Zane?"

She started running towards the Seam before Aubrey could respond.

"Zane's in the woods hunting," Aubrey said, keeping in pace with Arianna. "I think Josh is with him. The mist—will it reach the woods?"

Arianna turned to look at her. "No. He said it would spread too thin, and get stuck between the trees. As long as they're not to close to—"

"He? Who's he? What's this mist, and why aren't you affected?"

Arianna stopped and smiled with none of her usual humor. "President Snow. That bastard. The mist, it's made to make you forget! He told me he'd be sending it out to all the districts, making them forget that—"

"Aubrey!" Arianna was cut off by Zane's yell. She turned around to see Zane and his brother running towards them.

"Weird fog . . . we ran . . . didn't . . . reach," Josh wheezed.

"Come on," Arianna yelled over the wind. "Put your shirt over your nose and come on!"

They both knew better than to question Arianna ever since she came back, so they ran alongside with them.

When they reached their house, they slammed the door and locked all the locks, then took their clothes away from their noses and breathed heavily.

"What was—" Josh started.

"Come upstairs," Arianna cut him off.

What was it with all the cutting off today?

They ran upstairs into one of the rooms Aubrey had noticed earlier. It was a loft with three four-person couches, little light, and fancy curtains on the walls. Inside this room, Aubrey felt . . . safe. Like the impending feeling of being watched was gone.

"We'll be safe here. It's the only room in the house that doesn't have cameras."

Josh opened his mouth.

"If you cut me off, Josh, I swear," Arianna threatened.

He closed his mouth

"That's what I thought. Anyway, come here. I'll explain it to you. Or, what I know, at least."

They all sat down on the couch, with Zane on the end, Aubrey right next to him, Arianna next to her, and Josh on the other end.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"Well?" Josh asked, sounding impatient.

Arianna took a deep breath.

"My victory wasn't supposed to happen. The Capitol hadn't put the mines there to help us. And I used it to my advantage. President Snow called the meeting and showed up himself. He told me that he would get rid of my mistake, and make the people forget it ever happened. The boy from District Five was going to be made the winner, and no one would know I won."

What?

How could anyone make everyone just . . . _forget_ that her sister had won? That for once, their district had pulled through and actually won a fucking game for once? All that hard work for . . . what? Nothing?

But it was so easy. Just a snap of a finger and here comes the gas.

"What if people stayed inside and avoided the gas?" Aubrey asked.

Arianna shook her head. "Peacekeepers made sure everyone was affected. It wasn't as bad as it could've been here, because most people thought it was food. The gas caused hallucinations just for reassurance."

"But . . . how come you weren't affected?" Zane asked.

"Anyone who's had intense Capitol surgery won't be tricked by the gas. I'm talking bring people back from the dead. So basically most of the Victors and maybe a few Capitol citizens. The Capitol has advanced technology, so it builds up a tolerance to certain things. It should slowly wear off in a few years, like forty to fifty, but by then, people will either be dead, or be so convinced they won't _need_ a mist to tell them. "

The horrible thing about it, though, was that it made perfect sense. The perfect plan. It just shows the length that Snow will to protect his identity.

Which would make it even harder for them to beat him.

Aubrey sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. Why couldn't President just die? He should just come to District Twelve so Aubrey could slice him up with her knives.

" . . . Okay. That's . . . nice to know," Josh said.

"You just found out that no one would even remember that I won, and all you can says is 'that's nice to know'?"

Josh just shrugged.

Wait a minute . . .

"If you're no longer a Victor, then wouldn't that mean we have to move out?"

Arianna shook her head.

"President Snow said he would make sure to get the word around that they were testing out the house for him or something. He said it wouldn't kick us out, and he's not heartless." She snorted. "Yeah, right. Anyway, we can keep the money we have, and we'll still get a Victor's winnings, since I earned it."

"Could be worse," Zane said.

"Don't see how. Do you know what this means? Everything we did was for nothing. No one even remembers! What are we gonna do?" Aubrey exclaimed.

"Nothing," Arianna said, glaring at Josh when he opened his mouth. "We can't do anything now. We're already walking that fine line between life and death. I'll do anything at this point to protect you guys. The good thing is, I won't have to mentor anymore. I can stay here with you guys. But one of you might get reaped. We need to be prepared."

They all agreed. They planned out a schedule for training, and by the time their parents came home, Zane and Josh had already left out the back window. Aubrey grinned sheepishly when she realized she didn't follow her parent's rules.

Aubrey went to bed that night with a lot on her mind. If President wanted to go, they could go. But he'd fight as dirty as he needed to, and her four person army was nothing compared to what he had. This was President Snow we were talking about. He could crush them like a bug.

She shook her head to clear it and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **I just realized that the mist I'm using sounds a lot like** ** _the_** **Mist. But I had no idea until I started writing this chapter. Then I was like wait . . . But anyway! There's going to be a big time jump here. Nothing unusual happens, and it's pretty boring. Since there's no Victory Tour to write, nothing interesting is going to happen. Sigh. I hate time jumps because I feel like there's probably a detail or event that happened that I missed. But I can assure you, nothing big goes on. If you want a four or five-shot with more detail on the events mentioned, I can do that. Then I looked back and realized I wrote a lot of detail for her and Zane on her birthday anyway, because I couldn't resist. He he, I just love writing fluff! This is rated T, so don't expect them to (I just realized how blunt this sounded Xb) start fucking anytime soon, or for me to go into great detail. They aren't even 16 yet. And she's 14. But whatever, I'm sure you get it. Onward towards the chapter!**

 **Chapter Twelve: The Day Everything Went Wrong**

Days passed by. Everyone denied that District Twelve had a Victor, and every time Aubrey tried to see if she could spark a memory, they just looked confused and walked away. There would be times where someone would mumble, "District Twelve . . . Victor?" But they'd just shake their head and fall under again.

She celebrated her 15th birthday, and her and Zane's one year anniversary.

Their anniversary . . . about their anniversary . . .

Let's just say, they kissed quite a bit and got caught making out on the dining room table.

It was about two or three months since her sister's victory. Zane, Arianna, and Josh had made it so it would be the best birthday ever. Meaning they smashed cake in her face, screamed happy birthday at 5 A., and made sure the candles wouldn't go out no matter how hard she blew on them because they were holograms.

Zane _did_ make up for it, though.

He had taken her to the woods and, for once, it wasn't to train. They talked about anything and everything, and kissed a lot. But those small kisses had nothing on her last birthday kiss.

 _He softly caressed her face_.

 _Aubrey rolled her eyes in a teasing way._

 _"You always do it so gentle, like you're afraid to break me, or you want me to beg you for more. Which I've come close to doing so many times."_

 _Zane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that a challenge?"_

 _"If you're brave enough to take it. But I don't think you are."_

 _"Hmm. Guess I'll have to change that."_

 _Before she could react, Zane had pressed his lips against hers. This kiss was different, but good different. This kiss left her with more of an effect than the gentle ones. He kissed her deeply, and totally not soft. It was just the slightest bit gentle, so it wouldn't leave a bruise on her lips, but hard at the same time. When Zane asked for permission by flicking his tongue against her bottom lip, she didn't even hesitate to grant him access. They kissed hard and passionately before they had to come up for air. That didn't stop him from attacking her neck, though. He kissed, pulled, sucked, and maybe even bit a little. Aubrey may have moaned six or seven, or a million times—it was hard to keep count, he just smiled a bit each time. And Aubrey loved every second of it. It was more her style. Hard, intense, and living in the moment was how she liked things. Kiss now, assess damage later. Those gentle kisses had been driving her insane, and turning her into a bit of a good girl. But these kisses brought it crashing back down to step 1._

 _Aubrey had plenty of hickies by the time he moved back to her mouth. He pressed against her harder, and she pressed back with just as much, and maybe a little more, force. She noticed her back was against a tree, though how they had gotten there, she had no idea. This is what she had wanted for so long. To be able to kiss Zane while no one was watching. Don't get her wrong, she loved her sister, but some time alone with Zane was what she needed sometimes._

 _When he finally stopped kissing her, not that she was complaining about the kissing in any way, all she could say was "Wow."_

 _After a long pause to catch her breath, she was able to say, "You're a really good kisser."_

 _He just smirked and told her it was easy when he loved the person._

 _She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "September 8th . . . I'll remember this as the best birthday ever."_

Zane's birthday had already passed before she met him, as did his brother's, but Aubrey still made sure they had the best birthdays ever the next year. Arianna's birthday fell during December, and they made sure her birthday was epic.

She hadn't gotten called on any 'missions' lately, since she wasn't a Victor anyone remembered anymore, so no one wanted to have her entertainment anymore. Even if Snow wasn't against prostituting Victors, apparently just being a regular prostitute was wrong. Hmm.

They trained a lot. Pretty much everyday, they were out in the woods training. Arianna and Aubrey became masters at knife throwing, and Zane could beat anyone in hand-to-hand combat. Well, as long as they didn't try to kiss him (Aubrey may have done that once, and pinned him faster than he could blink). Josh could successfully use a sword, well, a wooden one. Aubrey was pretty good with hand-to-hand combat even without kissing the person. She could pin Arianna in 5 seconds. They all put on weight in muscles, Arianna shared some of the tips she got from training at the Capitol, and they all learned to climb trees. Josh and Zane had a bit more trouble and couldn't go as high because of their muscles. It was fun to watch them fall from the branches and complain about how it was unfair. One time, they all sat in a branch together and it broke because Josh was bouncing on it.

The reaping slowly crept up on them until it smacked them right in the face.

Aubrey's mother had shaken them awake, telling them to get up. Aubrey untangled herself from Arianna and stood up, stretching her limbs out. Arianna had had a bad nightmare about them dying in the games, and Aubrey, being the amazing sister she was, comforted her.

"Don't take too long. Breakfast is ready," her mother told her gently. "Wake your sister up, and help Cady get ready."

Aubrey nodded, not wanting to—gasp—upset her mother. She already had enough to worry about, and this was Cady's last year being safe from the Reaping.

She didn't ask why they were having breakfast at 12 o'clock.

After her mother left, she successfully woke Arianna up. Well, after getting kicked in the face, and almost having her eye poked out, but successful nonetheless.

Breakfast was tense. Arianna was trying not to look conflicted, and Aubrey was worrying about her friends.

 _What if you and Zane get chosen? What will you do?_ Her mind asked. _Shut it._ She told it.

As far as she knew, President Snow hadn't forgotten about them. He was just merely letting them live before he pulled out his cards and annihilated them.

"Where's uh, father?" Arianna asked.

Their mother pursed her lips. "He insisted on getting enough alcohol to last him through the week. That fool."

Aubrey sighed one again.

"Why don't you just leave 'em ma? Why stay? He doesn't care for us. It should be him and all his bottles all alone." **( A/N He he, Nicki Minaj song quote a bit changed)**

Her mother sighed. "I . . . I can't seem to leave him. Every time he comes back from the store with bottles, I keep thinking to myself, _Why do I love you the way I do?_ But I can't keep away. When we were younger, he was a handsome man. Nice, smart, charming too. Then he started getting into alcohol to hide the pain. His father used to beat him when he was younger. He'd come to school almost everyday with bruises. He started drinking more and more throughout our marriage, until he couldn't control it and he let the pain overcome him. Then Arianna came, and he made an effort to stop. He started having nightmares, and he went back to step one. From then on, he saw life through the bottom of the bottle."

Aubrey was shocked into silence. She never knew that about her father. She remembered a time when he wasn't as bad as he was now, and she had asked him to tell her a story. It was ten years ago, but she remembered it like it was yesterday.

 _"Father?" Aubrey asked. She was laying down in her parents' bed. It was a thick cotton blanket they had gotten half off from the shop. She had just woken up from a nightmare and rushed from off her blanket to her parents' room._

 _"Yes, Bre-Bear?" he asked. He hadn't had a sip of alcohol all day._

 _"Can... Can you tell me a story?"_

 _He turned over on his side to face her. "What kind of story?"_

 _"Hmm . . ." She thought about it for a second. "A story_ _. . ._ _'bout when you were a kid. I never hear about that."_

 _His face darkened. In the small light of the antique lamp they traded for, it looked like he was struggling to keep his relaxed composure._

 _"I-I'm sorry. I can't tell you any stories."_

 _She pouted. "Oh, come on! You have to have at least_ one _story!"  
_

 _He looked thoughtful for a moment._

 _"Well, there was the day I met your mother. I was just a kid, about 12 or 13. It was the first day of school, and we were informed that we were getting a new student. She was home-schooled since she was 5 years old. Anyway, I was excited. Every one in the school already knew each other. We had grown up together, along with a few stragglers who came along over the years. It was getting a bit boring._

 _"She walked into the classroom, with her bright blue eyes, and light brown hair. Back then, it was more common for the Merchants to have dirty blond or brown hair than it was to have just blond. She was looking around nervously, and her eyes locked with mine. Then she smiled at me and sat down in the seat next to me. She said, 'Hey. You come here often?'_ _I laughed and told her, 'Unfortunately. What 'bout you?' She giggled and said, 'Oh, silly you. Today's my first day.' And from then on, we were best friends. Well, up until we were 17, and we kissed at a school dance. We were dating ever since then."_

 _"How do you remember this so well if it was_ _. . . what? Awhile ago?"_

 _He laughed and kissed her nose. "Oh, Bre-Bear, you never forget the day you met your first love."_

"—Cady ready." her mother said.

Aubrey reached her fork down to pick up more food, only to realize there was no more, and everyone was looking a her.

She shook her head to clear out her thoughts. "What?"

"I said, Arianna's going to get ready first, then you can after you get Cady ready. I trust you can handle it by yourself."

Arianna went upstairs, and Aubrey followed and pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay. I won't let him take you from me."

Arianna smiled, and hugged her back. They stood in the hallways for a few seconds before going their separate ways.

"Cady?" Aubrey knocked on the door. Her younger sister had been up before them and had already eaten breakfast by the time they had gotten up.

"Come in."

Aubrey pushed the door open and saw Cady sitting on the bed waiting for her.

"Come on," she said in a gentle voice. "Let's go get you an outfit."

They walked to the closet, which was full of dresses, skirts, fancy shoes, ribbons, bows, headbands, and jewelry boxes.

"Got a dress in mind?"

Cady's face lit up. "Yeah! It's this pretty blue dress, and there's this matching bow, and there's these white shoes I just adore! And these—" she went on about her discovery.

The dress was knee-length with a flowy skirt, and the top was sleeveless and decorated with white lace flowers, and a white belt separating the top from the bottom. It was a light, sky blue, which went perfectly with her eyes, with were also sky blue. The bows were white, which went with the flowers on the dress, and the white shoes, which had small heels on them.

Her little sister was growing up. Oh, it'll only be a few years until she started liking boys . . .

Aubrey tried no to think about it.

"If it looks as beautiful as it does by itself, it will look even more so on you." she tapped Cady's nose while she giggled, and made sure the dress was on and tied, and her long light brown hair was in two braids with the bows on them before leaving to get ready herself.

When she got in the room, her sister was wearing a white dress, with a sweetheart neckline, which had a lace top part. The long sleeves were lace, and the bottom ended a few inches above the knee, with a lace bottom edge. She had a white pearl bracelet on, with white heels.

She was brushing her hair, and when she saw Aubrey staring a her, she smiled.

"Hey. I got a matching dress for you on the bed if you want it. But it's black. Thought you'd like that more."

Aubrey smiled. "You know me so well."

She walked over to the bed, and picked up the dress. There was a black pearl bracelet and black heels. **( A/N Look in my profile for the link of Aubrey's dress if you wanna see it. Arianna's is just going to be white, so just imagine it's white if you wanna see what Arianna's looks like.)  
**

After putting on her outfit, she brushed her hair, which had grown to her mid-upper arm, and slapped on some strawberry flavored lip gloss. Zane told her it tasted the best out of all the flavors.

Don't ask how he knows.

Aubrey fingered her hands nervously. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling in her stomach. And she'd learned to trust her stomach when it was trying to tell her something. Like when she ate too much pizza that one time and got sick.

"Come on, we're leaving now!" She heard her mother yelling from downstairs.

Aubrey sighed, ran her hands through her hair, and grabbed Arianna's wrist, pulling the reluctant girl downstairs.

After a few minutes of having their clothes being checked by their mother, they finally left the house for the Reaping.

She felt two hands slide into hers, and smiled as she gripped both of her sisters' hands tighter.

Aubrey barely registered the name stand, and she gave her sisters one last squeeze before they separated. She could see their escort, Kerri Klark walking on stage.

This year, she was wearing a white and black zebra print body suit, with a mane and a tail.

Aubrey smacked her face with her hand so hard the people around her gave her weird looks.

"Ahem." The mayor cleared his throat and began his long, boring speech about how they rebelled, and the Capital won, and how they're all gonna die, blah blah blah, whatever. Snow's a creep, that's all that matters.

Aubrey started tuning back in when his speech was over.

"Now now!" Kerri yelled. "Time for the Reaping. Let's go to the boys first. Everyone always does the girls, so I think we should switch it up."

She pranced over to the boys' Reaping ball and plucked out the name on top.

"Oh, looky here! Come up to the stage. . ." She paused for effect. "Oh my! Why are there two last names?" she shrugged. "No matter. The first is the only one that matters, anyway, but whatever! Zane Vison–Mellark!"


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hey guys! So yeah, Zane's last name is Mellark. Remember a few chapters back when they were all hanging out and I said something about a shock? And how Zane was telling Aubrey about his family? Well, here's where that comes to play! No, Zane is not Peeta's father, because he doesn't fit the description. But I wonder who it could be . . . well I don't because I already know but still. And after the next game it'll be pretty obvious, if it isn't already now. I mean, if it helps, Peeta's family has the Victor thing going on. I'm running out of pre-written chapters, so I'd better get on that!  
**

 **Chapter Thirteen: The Beginning Of The End Of Everything Nice**

Aubrey's first thought was, _his last name is Mellark?_ But that was quickly thrown away when she realized who it was.

 _No!_ It couldn't be! Not Zane. Not _her_ Zane!

Aubrey's heart was in her throat. Was this happening? Was this really happening? This couldn't be real. But she knew it was. It was all real. She just couldn't get a fucking break. First Arianna, and now, Zane? It was like Snow planned it all out.

"No . . ." she whispered, feeling like the world was falling apart.

She saw Arianna come in her vision.

Aubrey could feel the tears building up in her eyes, and she could barely hold them down.

 _No,_ she thought. _I won't cry. Not in front of everyone._

She pulled herself together and stood up straight.

Zane had started making his way down the aisle when someone screamed out, "Wait! No! I volunteer!"

Aubrey knew that voice . . . it was Josh!

"Josh! No!" Aubrey yelled, though she doubted anyone heard her. She saw tears stream down Arianna's face.

He didn't listen.

He patted Zane on the back, whispering, "No! You're not going. It's my job to protect you, as an older brother."

He let go.

Aubrey didn't want Josh to go. She didn't want anyone to go, yet she felt a tiny stab of relief that it wasn't Zane, and she hated herself for it.

He walked up the steps looking composed, but Aubrey knew him better than that. She could see the panic and fear he tried to hide in his eyes.

Kerri didn't seem to register what just happened.

"Oh! The joy, a volunteer! Come up, come up!"

She ushered him up the stairs.

"Now, what is your name? We can't have a nameless boy going into the games!"

Josh's eyes got stormy, like he was trying to hold in his disgust. "Josh. Josh Mellark."

Kerri squealed in excitement, not seeing the obvious. "Oh! Volunteering for a family member! You know, you're the first person to volunteer here in 42 years. The last volunteer was the first ever Hunger Games!"

She rushed over to the girls' Reaping ball and hesitated before picking.

She dug her hand deep down, and pulled out a name. She didn't waste any time rushing back to her podium. She was so excited, she didn't even try for suspense. She called a name. A name Aubrey knew all too well.

"Aubrey Oric."

She knew the name so well because it was _her_ name.

Arianna immediately shot her head up, and opened her mouth. Aubrey knew what she was about to do.

"I—"

Aubrey clamped a hand over her mouth, and glared hard at her.

"No. You're not going in again. Never again."

Aubrey put her _mess with me and you'll never see light again_ face on. It was time to get down to business. The games had already started. She didn't want to look like a wimp to the whole country.

Arianna grabbed her hand. "But Aubre—"

Aubrey didn't let her finish. She ripped her hand out of Arianna's, and went towards the stage, pausing to say one thing.

"If you volunteer I'll just knock you out and switch us. I'll go the whole games as Arianna Oric if I have to."

Yes, harsh, but it needed to be done. She had to learn she couldn't always be the hero, even if she was just trying to protect her.

Aubrey walked up to the stage. She stepped onto the stage, and looked the escort straight in the eyes.

"Present."

She had no idea why she just said that. It just seemed right. She might've felt a bit stupid after saying that, but she didn't regret it.

"Right. Okay! These are our tributes for this years' game! Shake hands!"

She looked at Josh, and their eyes met. He was like a brother to her. In fact, if her and Zane got married, he would be her brother.

She resisted a blush at the thought, and gave him a big hug.

Pshh. _Just_ shake hands with her bro? No way.

With that, she walked off the stage.

The Peacekeepers met her halfway and escorted her. She felt so honored. Note the heavily used sarcasm.

They pretty much threw Aubrey in a room and locked it before she could rip their heads off.

The room looked the same as the last time she had come to see Arianna. Plush carpet, Velvet couches, green walls. It was very fancy.

Aubrey barely sat down when the door ripped open. Arianna ran in the room, and slammed the door in Zane's face.

If her confidence wasn't gone, she might've smiled.

"AUBREY!" Arianna yelled at her.

She cringed. She knew she'd be mad, but it was still shocking.

"WHY THE FUCKING HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU DUMB BITCH!"

Arianna started crying, and hugged Aubrey so tight her guts were almost seeping out of her skin.

"Ugh . . . can't breathe," Aubrey gasped out.

"Good. Maybe that will talk some sense into you."

"Wouldn't that just make me lightheaded?"

Arianna glared at her.

Aubrey sighed. "Listen. You are never going into those games again as long as I'm alive."

"Which won't be long now that you've done this!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it! I did what I did already, we can't change it, so let's move on."

Arianna cried more. "I-It's just, what if you don't make it out? Then it'll be all my fault because I could have saved you. But I didn't! Josh said it was his job to protect Zane as his older sibling. A lot of good I did you!"

Aubrey consoled her sister.

"Don't worry. I'll make it out."

"And if you don't?"

"I will."

"If you don't?"

"I will! I believed you would, and you did. So shut the fuck up and believe in me."

"Believing won't get you anywhere! You need hard work, dedication, training—"

"You sound like my teachers. Just shut your goddamn trap and hug me!"

They hugged for a few more minutes until a Peacekeeper came in and ripped Arianna away from her.

"Get the fuck off my sister!" Aubrey grabbed her from his grasp and pushed her out.

She expected Zane to come in next, but it was her parents.

She hugged both of them. No matter what she said, they were still her parents, and she had to love them.

"Please, please come out alive," they murmured and hugged her. She felt sobs coming on, but she swallowed them down.

The Peacekeeper came back and took them away.

Next was Cady. She threw herself at Aubrey.

"Oh, Auby! Come out alive, please! You gotta!" Tears were streaming down her face and she was shaking with the force of her sobs.

"Shh, shh. I will. I will."

She sat there and hugged her sister. She wasn't sure if she could keep her promises. She wasn't sure she could make it out alive herself.

The Peacekeepers came again, and her last guest came.

She didn't even get a word in before he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her. She vaguely felt herself against a wall, with her arms around his neck, and his hands still on her shoulders.

When he finally pulled away, Aubrey took a moment to catch her breath.

"I-I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked her softly.

"For-for getting picked."

Zane laughed. "Oh, Aubrey. That's ridiculous. You can't control what happens."

He turned serious. "Get a weapon, and find Josh. Protect yourself. You'll do fine. I've seen what you can do."

Aubrey nodded.

He pulled out something from out of his pocket. A necklace. It was a gold chain, pure gold, with a rectangle on the end.

Aubrey gasped, recognizing it.

"Zane . . ."

Zane put the necklace around her neck and kissed her forehead.

"Open it."

She did, even though she already knew what was inside of it.

Inside was a picture of her, Zane, Arianna, and Josh. They were all in the woods after training, just fucking around.

Arianna was smiling, and Josh was sticking out his tongue, cross eyed. Zane was smirking and Aubrey was smiling wide while holding up a peace sign, with Zane's arm around her waist.

"You already have a token?"

"No. This will be my token. Oh, my . . . How'd you find this?"

Zane smiled.

"Arianna was happy to search your room for me."

She had lost that very locket, the locket that she had gotten from Zane for her birthday.

"Oh, thank you!"

She reached up and kissed him.

"Aubrey, I've told you a million times before, but I'll tell you again. I'll love you until the end of time. Every time I look into your eyes, I know everything will be alright, and everything will. Trust me."

He kissed her again before she could respond. He put all of his words into his kisses. Time passed. Maybe and hour, maybe ten minutes. All she knew was that the door opened, Zane was gone, and she was alone crying on the floor.

They thought she could do it. They really did. They thought she could win. She couldn't. She wasn't as strong as the other kids.

Aubrey frowned and slapped her self three times.

"Get . . . yourself . . . together!" **( A/N He he, for those of you who don't know, this is from The Incredibles. I love that movie to death. I loved that scene when Edna hit her with the newspaper so much, I just had to!)**

Who was she? Some crying damsel in distress who needed saving? No.

She picked herself off the floor and schooled her face into a fierce expression.

"Woman your ass up."

She dusted herself off and waited patiently on the couch for the dic—erm, Peacekeeper to come get her.

He did.

When they got to the Square, there were cameras everywhere. She was glad her face was stone because she might have cringed.

There was a fancy looking car waiting for them. It looked almost as expensive as one of the Victors' houses.

After getting out of the car, the train showed up, and they were shoved on it.

Kerri—ugh—was there to greet them.

"Oh! I just love this train! Going at speeds over 250!"

Aubrey might've thought the train was amazing, but she had already been in in the Victors' Village houses, so this was familiar ground with her. The whole train car was bright and lively, pretty much the opposite of her mood

The brightly colored walls were almost too bright, and the velvet—and other fabrics she couldn't even name—were soft to the touch.

The chairs where black, with a velvet cushion, and the table was stacked with food, and a dark brown wood.

She ignored whatever the hell Kerri was saying, and went off to find her room. The room was smaller then her room at home, but still bigger then her whole old house. The beds were soft, some fabric she didn't know, and the walls were a plain red. The showers had less buttons than the ones at her house, but it was still really awesome. If she had seen this room before she moved into her new house, she would have just died.

After looking through the drawer, she put on a red short-sleeved shirt with a pocket over her heart and black jeans.

She just lied on the bed, fingering her necklace from Zane, and thinking about her goodbyes.

 _"I-It's just, what if you don't make it out? Then it'll be all my fault because I could have saved you. But I didn't!"_

 _"Please, please come out alive."_

 _"Oh, Auby! Come out alive, please! You gotta!"_

 _"I'll love you until the end of time. Every time I look into your eyes, I know everything will be alright, and everything will. Trust me."_

She stayed that way until Kerri knocked on her door, calling her for dinner.

They sat down and immediately started eating.

There were buttered rolls, spicy chickens and other mysterious meats. Not like school meat mysterious, but like they were meats that didn't come from District 12. There were fresh fruits, soups, stews, vegetables, juices, wines, and other stuff she didn't even recognize.

Aubrey knew not to stuff herself like she did the first like her mother wasn't there to watch her eat, but there were more options here than she had in her house. She really wanted to stuff her face, but then she remembered what had happened the first time she did that. She had thrown up so many times.

The food was good, and the chocolate covered strawberries reminded her of one day in the woods where she and Zane had eaten them at a river.

After they were finished eating, Kerri stared at them with respect.

"Wow. You two sure know how to pace yourself! Everyone else just stuffs themselves like there's no tomorrow!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes.

They got up to watch the Reapings.

The Careers from One were pretty, but clever. Aubrey hated to admit that the girl from One was really, really hot. The Careers from Two were not as pretty, but strong and brutal. Three was pathetic, and Four was okay. The boy was strong, but no threat. The girl only had one arm. Nothing happened until District 6. It was one of those districts where no one ever volunteered, but this year, a boy did. He had the most beautiful hazel eyes, and dark brown hair. It was about medium length. He looked about 13. Maybe 14. He volunteered for his little brother, who looked about 9, but Aubrey knew he had to be at least 12.

Nothing else happened until District 10.

The boy from Ten was tall, muscular, and he didn't look like he was one to give mercy.

They watched their Reapings, and then went to bed.

It had been a long day, and Aubrey just realized how tried she was. She was so done with the day, and she just wanted to go to sleep. And she did fall asleep, as soon as her face hit the pillow.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hello, my lovelies! I've just been having trouble writing chapters for my other story, even though I have a plan for that story. *Raises fist up to the sky* I'll get you one day! Also, did you know how'll isn't a word? Why is it not? What if I don't wanna say how will? How'll is just a lot easier if you ask me, but who was asking me? And that phrase is just weird. Saying something and then going if you ask me. If you ask me... what? Let's just say you say something like, the sky is blue because of the ocean, if you ask me. If I ask you what? What question? Heh, sorry for these useless ramblings. Also, I just love Andy. Andy is a character who'll (oh, how'll isn't a word, but who'll is?!) show up soon. Every time I write a scene with him in it I have to smile and resist the urge to start squealing. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just love him so much, he's like my son! Well, my other other son. I mean, both of my sons are fictional, but no matter! I hope you like Andy too, because he'll be here pretty much until I decide to when kill him. Oh, I really don't want to, but the rules are the rules and I can't change them, no matter how much I wish I could! I have no berries to attempt double suicide with, so rules will be rules. Andy is just too sweet and innocent for this world!  
**

 **Chapter Fourteen: The First Day In The Captiol**

Aubrey woke up to someone knocking on the door.

"Get up, get up, get up! Lots to do today!"

Aubrey groaned and rolled out of bed. Who dared to wake her up at this ungodly hour of the morning?

"Get up! Up, up!" Kerri's shrill voice pierced her ears. Oh, of course. Kerri would. Just her luck.

"Ugh..."

Aubrey rubbed her eyes, and realized what day it was.

It was her and Zane's anniversary. And they weren't together to celebrate it.

Aubrey fought down tears and a sob. She had always dreamed what the day would be like. And this was _not_ what she had in mind. It had barely been a day and she already missed him. She missed Arianna and Cady—everyone. The reality of where she was going had set in, and she didn't like it.

Aubrey wiped a stray tear off of her face and steeled herself.

She got up, and went to the dining room, not caring that she didn't change. Kerri was the only person there.

Aubrey smirked as she sat down. She knew Josh was hard to wake up when he got comfortable.

"So," She asked innocently. "Where's Josh?"

Kerri's face scrunched up like she just bit into a lemon.

"Hmph! He refused to get up, so I ordered one of the servants to wake him up. Going into his room would not have been proper. He is quite the sleeper."

Aubrey nodded her head, and pretended like she actually cared.

"Mm, yeah."

After waiting a few more minutes, the servant came back in.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I cannot wake him up. My methods are not sufficient enough," He sounded pained.

Aubrey cracked her knuckled. "I got this." They should've known better than to let _her_ wake Josh up, but, to her amusement, they didn't. She'd been itching to try something out.

She got up and went to the freezer, grabbing a handful of ice cubes. She walked to his room with a bounce in her step, with the servant and Kerri following her to see what she would do.

Aubrey walked up to his bed, shoved the ice cubes down his shirt, and jumped back.

"AAAH!" He screamed, his hands going to his shirt.

By that time, Aubrey was already on the ground crying from her laughter.

Josh looked around the room, and his eyes landed on Aubrey, who was still on the floor laughing. She tried to stand up, but she just laughed so hard she fell down again.

After a few more minutes, she composed herself.

"Whew," She wiped away a tear from her eye and stood up.

Josh glared at her and got up too

"Ha ha. So funny."

"Yes, yes it was."

Josh walked out of the room, leaving a smiling servant and horrified Kerri behind.

Aubrey walked out after him.

"You're not even gonna change your shirt?" She asked, hopping up into her chair.

He shrugged. "Nope. What's the point? I'm just gonna change it again anyway when we reach the Capitol."

Aubrey nodded her head, and dug into her breakfast of waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit.

Kerri came in a few minutes later, looking better than she did when they left her.

"Alright," She said when they finished their breakfast. "Today we'll be reaching the Capitol, and you'll get to meet you prep teams and stylist! You'll be going in the Tribute Parade, where you get to see your fellow competitors in person. We'll be there in a few minutes, so sit tight!"

She got up and left, going who knows where.

Aubrey put her feet on the empty table and looked at Josh, who looked like he might go for the table cloth. She knew something was wrong.

"What's up with you?"

Josh looked at her.

"What if they make us naked again?"

Aubrey considered it. She hadn't really thought about it.

"How about this: They make us naked, I'll cut their heads off and then give them chance to change it."

Josh laughed a little.

"How, exactly, do you plan to give them chance to change it if their heads are on the ground?"

Aubrey though about it.

"Okay, I'll give them a chance _then_ cut their head off."

Josh nodded.

"Reasonable."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before they passed under a tunnel that turned the whole car black.

Aubrey jumped to her feet, and she could hear Josh do it too. All of their training had taught them to always be aware, and she didn't like the dark. She couldn't see anything in it, and not seeing something is just as bad as being tied to the ground with no weapon.

After a few seconds, the darkness cleared to show the most beautiful thing Aubrey had ever seen. They had reached the Capitol.

She ran to the window and put her hands against the glass in amazement.

"Whoa..."

The candy colored building sparkled in the sunlight. The bright colors amazed her. The sky was a pretty blue, and it went perfectly with everything else. The lights twinkled, and they colors popped. The building were tall and elegant. The people looked crazy in their clothes, and they stopped to point at them. Nothing in their district could ever compare to this.

In her amazement, Aubrey waved her hand at them. She was feeling really giddy right then.

They all cheered and waved back at her.

Aubrey turned and looked at Josh. He looked surprised too.

"Am I really seeing this, or am I hallucinating?" Josh asked.

Aubrey said, "I'm not too sure myself."

It was awesome.

"It's not this amazing on Television. Either our TVs suck, or they don't have high definition filming."

Aubrey laughed at him.

Kerri came to get them, and they exited the train into a waiting car.

* * *

"Just sit still!"

Aubrey crossed her arms over her bare chest. Her prep team was annoying her. She had no desire to be naked after last year, but she couldn't prevent it.

Romonia held down her legs while Violet ripped off the waxing strip.

Aubrey gritted her teeth in annoyance. She really didn't like these people touching her. They were idiots, and they didn't seem to take her threats seriously.

"Okay," Romonia wiped her forehead. "That was the last one."

She had been waxed, poked, plucked, slathered in random oils, bathed in mysterious liquids, and had weird things done to her hair. Aubrey felt like a turkey. All she needed was to be stuffed, and that was _not_ happening.

"Okay. I think she's ready to see Purria."

What type of name...?

Aubrey stood up as they left. Purria was the stylist, and the winner for the stupidest name ever. Aubrey half expected her to be a cat.

Aubrey snatched up the robe and put it on just as Purria walked in.

She had long brown hair with gold highlights in a braid tossed over her shoulder, and bright orange lipstick. Her eyebrows looked like upside down V's. She looked ridiculous, and the skin tight flower printed body suit didn't help.

"Take you robe off, please. I need to do a last check."

Aubrey sighed. She didn't like it, but she took it off.

Purria circled around her, plucking off a few pieces of extra hair and looking for any mistakes. Aubrey thought she was looking at the wrong person. Maybe she should try the mirror.

"Alright. You can put your robe back on and join me for lunch."

Aubrey did as she said and sat down it another room, sitting cross legged, and eating her lasagna and garlic bread.

"Okay," Purria said when they were done eating. "This year will be similar to the last, but not really."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes.

"We gonna be naked again?"

Purria smiled. "Not quite, dear."

Aubrey looked at her wearily, not exactly reassured by her answer.

"So, you ever heard of a strip club?"

Aubrey banged her head against the table and groaned.

This was not going how she planned.

* * *

Aubrey walked up to her chariot fuming. That stupid stylist! Oh, the nerve of the Capitol.

She was dressed in a shiny, glossy leather strapless top with a sweetheart neckline and a corset tied in the back with gold ribbon. It ended at her waist, where the shirt connected into a frilly, fluffy black tu-tu. It was flecked with gold spots, and it just barely covered her upper thigh. Then she was dressed in black fishnet tights, and black shoes, which had thick heels and were so high she had to have lessons walking in them. Her hair was curled, and her eyes were lined with black winged eyeliner, with gold flecks surrounding the wings. Her lips were gold, and she had on a bracelet on each hand that looked like her tu-tu, but a smaller version.

She sighed and leaned against the chariot, crossing her arms over her chest. She felt like an overly dressed stripper, which was what Purria was going for.

She was calming herself down when some kid came up to her.

He was dressed in an old fashion styled green toga, holding a fake green trident. He was kinda muscular, but not overly so. He looked about 16 or so. His hair was a light sandy blonde and curly, his skin tan, and his eyes were a startling gold color. Not like the fake gold she was wearing, but like real gold. His eyes sparkled with humor and amusement.

"Nice outfit," He noted, looking at her.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, wondering when Josh would come.

"Whatever. Nice toga."

He looked down. "Oh, this? Yeah, well, my stylist is an idiot so this is the best he could do."

Aubrey laughed.

" _Your_ stylist is an idiot? Look at me! I'm a stripper."

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean you look like a stripper? You seem a bit young to be a stripper."

Aubrey laughed again, liking this kid more and more.

"Yeah. It was better than last year, though. I would've killed her if I was naked."

The boy laughed.

"I'm sure you wouldn't look too shabby."

Aubrey blushed. Was he hitting on her?

"Um, thanks."

He smiled at her.

"What's your name?"

Aubrey stuck out her hand.

"Aubrey Oric, from District twelve."

His eyes held fear for a second, then confusion, but it passed by so quickly she was sure she imagined it.

He shook her hand.

"Limerick. Andrew Limerick. My friends call me Andy, though. Andrew from four."

Aubrey gestured towards his outfit. "Yeah, I kinda got that. Trident and all."

Andrew laughed. "Yes, well, I couldn't tell from yours. I would've thought you came from another galaxy with that on."

Aubrey giggled. "I'm glad you agree, Andrew."

"Andy," He suggested.

"Okay. Andy."

He smiled kindly at her, and she smiled back. They could be good friends. She decided not to stay on the fact that one of them would have to die in a week.

Josh chose that moment to walk up to them, in a sleeveless, collared leather shirt with a white bow tie, and black leather pants. The shirt brought out his muscles, though Aubrey would never admit it to him. His ego didn't need to get any bigger.

"What the fuck?!" Aubrey just about shouted when she saw him.

"What?" He asked.

"Look at me, and look at you!"

Josh did, and started laughing.

"You—You look like an angry nine year old in a stripper costume!" He bent over because he was laughing so hard

Then he laughed even harder.

When Aubrey looked at him weirdly, he just said, "W—Wait 'till Zane sees you."

Aubrey paled.

"Fuck."

Josh started laughing harder.

"Y—Yeah. He won't be able to take his eyes off of you for a second. He'll have to go get some tissues so he can—"

Aubrey punched him in the stomach and glared at him.

He then looked at Andy and sobered up.

"And who might you be?"

Andy smiled at him.

"Oh, this is Andy. From District Four."

Josh nodded and turned toward the horse, and started petting it.

They started calling people back to their chariots to get ready to start.

Aubrey turned back to Andy.

"You doing anything tonight?"

Andy smiled at her, his gold eyes twinkling like a million stars.

"No."

"Kay. Meet me on the roof after the tribute parade replays."

Andy laughed, and it seemed to come straight from his heart. When he smiled, he looked very happy, and Aubrey was struck by how handsome he looked. She still preferred Zane, though, and she didn't plan on cheating on him. She did love him, after all. She didn't date him for a year for nothing.

"Alright. See you there."

He turned and left.

Aubrey looked at Josh, who was already on the chariot.

He put down a hand, and helped her up.

"Nice kid."

Aubrey shrugged. "I guess. I invited him to the roof, if you wanna come."

He shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be enjoying my bed, thank you very much."

Aubrey laughed at him.

Their stylists ran up to them, checking for any last minute mistakes.

"Oh! I just know you'll be great."

District One's chariot pulled out, and the crowd went wild for them. They were dressed in sparkling gem body suits, smiling and waving to the crowd.

Aubrey rolled her eyes as District Two's chariot pulled out. They were dressed as warriors, as usual.

District Three rolled out, unimportant.

District four came out, and Aubrey strained her neck to see Andy.

He was smiling and waving to the crowd, holding his trident in his hand, and looking super powerful. Aubrey smiled. Looks sure were deceiving.

The chariots came out one by one, and it was their turn before they knew it.

They looked at each other nervously as the chariot rolled out.

The screaming was loud. People were yelling, throwing flowers, crying, shaking other people... it was just chaos. Madness at its finest.

Their chariot rode past, and they waved, just like their stylist told them.

 _Wave, wink at them, maybe even blow a kiss. That's how you get sponsors. They're the people that give you gifts in the games. Play up your outfit._

Aubrey sighed. _Well, here goes nothing.  
_

She looked at the crowd and winked at some random person. The screaming became louder, and someone threw a whole banquet of flowers at her. She caught it, and smiled brightly in that direction. She heard a lot of wolf whistles directed at her, and she resisted the urge to glare at them. She was _fifteen._

They stopped in front of President Snow, the snake himself.

"Yes, yes, quiet down."

They did as he said.

He start going on about the districts, and how horrible they were, and how this was their punishment. Aubrey resisted the urge to yell, _we are right here!_

Aubrey was relieved when they went around one more time, then got off the chariot.

Aubrey practically ran to the elevator. She didn't want to be looked at anymore.

When they got to their floor, Aubrey really did run to her room to change before dinner.

The room was bigger than the one on the train, but otherwise the same.

She changed into a comfortable black short-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, and went to dinner.

Dinner consisted of roast, soup, bread rolls, side glares at the stylists, and chocolate covered strawberries.

After dinner, they sat down to watch the replays.

The Career Districts looked amazing and powerful as usual, and everyone else looked pretty pathetic. When they came around, their stylist cheered. Even Kerri cheered.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and rushed to the roof after it was over.

Her sister had told her all about it, but it was still surprising to see it in person.

It had a garden to the side, with tables set up in the dome. Outside of the dome, the Capitol shined even brighter. The lights twinkled in the dark, and the candy colored buildings stood out, making Aubrey gasp. It was so beautiful, it was hard to imagine any darkness under it.

Aubrey noticed it was a bit cold, so she ran back inside and threw on a leather jacket.

Aubrey walked over to the edge of the railing, seeing Andy already there. She smiled to herself.

She stood right next to him.

"Hey."

He jumped so hard he almost fell over the edge. Despite this, Aubrey still laughed her head off.

"Y—Your face!" Andy laughed a bit too and rolled his eyes.

"Hardy har har. Laugh at Andy, why don't you."

Aubrey laughed harder.

"I already am!"

After pulling herself together, she clamped her hands around the railing.

Andy sighed.

"You know, sometimes I wonder what my family at home is doing."

Aubrey looked at him.

"Me too. I know my parents don't believe I'll come home."

Andy looked like he was in deep thought.

"Why?"

Aubrey hesitated. She couldn't exactly tell him her sister won the games and everyone forgot it.

"Umm, I just know."

Andy looked at her. His gold eyes looked almost nervous, and his eyebrows were scrunched together.

"Come over here," He led her over to the garden. "The wind chimes are a bit loud, and the wind makes it hard to hear."

"Hard to—oh." Aubrey blushed. She felt a little slow.

Andy sat down on a bench, and patted the seat next to him.

"Okay," He started, playing with his fingers. "How to start. Well, one day, I was swimming in the ocean after the shift was over. I wasn't supposed to be, but I didn't listen. My mother had just—done something, and I had to get away. So I dove under the sea and swam for awhile. This was a few days after last years Victor. When I came back up to the surface, everyone was looking like they were on morphling or something. So I went home, and asked when the tour for the Victor would be, and my mom started talking about the Victor from five, and I was confused, because as far as I knew, the Victor was from District 12."

Aubrey took a second to realize what he was saying.

Then she hugged him.

"Oh, thank you! Everyone has been denying it for so long, and it's been driving me insane! My sister won the games last year, she did!"

Andy laughed. "You're killing me."

She let go.

"So, you remember what happened?"

Andy nodded. "The mines? Yeah. I went over to you to see if you knew anything about it. When you told me your name, I knew you would know."

Aubrey nodded.

"That's how I know my parents don't believe in me. They didn't believe in my sister either."

Andy laughed. "Oh, they're fools to not believe in you. I've only known you for a few hours, and I already know you have a chance."

Aubrey laughed and waved a hand at him.

"Look at you! You have way more of a chance than I do!"

Andy smiled. "Are you calling me handsome?"

Aubrey punched him in the gut.

"Shut up. But I guess you are, even though I'm prettier."

Andy laughed.

"You are pretty. You could win a lot of sponsors."

"As could you."

"Ooh, fancy."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

After a few minutes, Andy shivered.

Aubrey looked at him.

"You cold?"

He rubbed his arms.

"Yeah. It's always warm in District Four."

Aubrey giggled. She was used to the cold. The winters in District Twelve were terrible. And her family didn't always have warm blankets to keep them warm.

"I'm used to it. We didn't always live in the Victors' Village, you know."

Andy nodded and shivered again.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and took off her jacket.

"Here."

He shook his head.

"No, keep it."

"I'm not even cold. It feels like a warm summer breeze to me. Take it." It really didn't, but she wasn't about to say that.

He gave in and accepted it.

After a while of silence, Aubrey leaned her head against his shoulder.

"When you were telling your story, you said... you said your mother did something. What did she do?"

Andy's eyes darkened.

"She—She hit me, and I went where I usually did to get away from her. The ocean."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes.

"So, she always hits you?"

Andy hesitated, but nodded.

Aubrey sighed and closed her eyes. This boy—he was so nice, so amazing, Aubrey couldn't believe anyone would want to hurt him. She barely knew him, but she already knew he was too good for the world.

Aubrey opened her eyes when he spoke up.

"So, tell me about your life."

"Huh?"

"Your life. Tell me about it."

Aubrey though about it for a second.

"Well, life in Twelve isn't always pretty."

She told him about her family, and her connection to Josh. She even told him about Zane. She expected his to get jealous, but he just laughed and said, "Sounds like a nice guy. Wish I could meet him." Aubrey smiled at him.

"Now tell me about yours."

He sighed and looked up at the sky full of twinkling stars.

"District Four is nice, but my family isn't."

He told her how his mother always hit him, and his father was dead. He died in a fishing accident.

"My mom is a Victor. She wanted me to be just like her, so she sent me to training. When I refused to go, she started hitting me. She hated me because she had me with my father. She wasn't supposed to get pregnant. Then, when I grew up and started getting good looks, she set up dates for me. She told me if I won, I'd be required to go on dates anyway, though I'd have to do a bit more. She told me all about the Capitol system. The girls were nice enough, but I never liked any of them. I just went on one date and never talked to them again. The problem was the fact that I didn't like just girls. I had a boyfriend at the time—Anthony, but my mother forbid me to see him. She called me a menace and said I could never focus on just one person, and the guys don't pay as much as the girls do. It would be that way in the Capitol. I didn't want to train. She forced me to go to the training facility anyway. It was torture. The people, the trainers. Worst experience ever."

Aubrey stayed silent. That was a lot to take in.

"How did you turn out so... you?"

He smiled sadly. "I have no idea."

They stayed up there for a little longer, until Andy looked at his watch and told her it was getting late. They both said goodbye and rushed to their rooms, both thinking about the new friendship that would only last a few days.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hello, guys! This chapter goes a bit more into depth about Aubrey and Josh's relationship. They love each other like siblings, not partners, so don't get any ideas. Josh is fun, lovable, and funny, but he can be very serious and wise at times. Aubrey can also be a great person to console other people if she wanted to be. She's not just some heartless stone, you know. She just thinks she is. But don't worry, she's only this way to set up the plot for what's coming up in what I plan for the next part of this story. If I do follow through with a sequel, it'll show more of Aubrey's emotional side, and more of the cold, heartless side to cover that up, but don't worry. Aubrey will be plentiful emotional and just a teensy tiny bit broken. Nothing too serious. And Zane will be there to comfort her all the way. There will be a lot more Zubrey fluff too. Yay! That's great news for me. But they still won't get too intimate, because they'll only be like 16 or so, so the most they'll do is making out in weird places or something. Well, that turned depressing and weird, no pun intended, so enjoy this chapter.  
**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Training Day**

Aubrey woke up to knocking on her door again. She had to resist the urge to throw her pillow at the door.

"Time for breakfast! Oh, your first day of training! Up, up!"

Aubrey groaned. She would _never_ get used to that.

She quickly ran her fingers through her hair to get out the tangles (not like it helped), and didn't bother to change. She would just have to change again at ten, when it was time for training. She was still tired. It was early, and she went to bed late last night.

When she went out to breakfast, Josh was there. She was shocked, and it must have shown on her face, because when she sat down, Josh said, "They never told me I had to wake up for breakfast. If they would've just said that, I would've gotten up a lot quicker. And not have had ice cubes down my shirt."

Aubrey snickered. It was still funny to her.

Josh glared.

Kerri walked in a few minuted later, decked out in light blue.

"Okay," she said as she sat down. "Today is training. I trust you know what happens there. You'll have an outfit provided for you in your room when you return. It's what you'll wear to training. We'll leave at ten o'clock sharp, so be ready."

Aubrey shrugged and kept eating her pancakes.

After breakfast, she went back to her room. It was only nine, so she still about an hour. The training outfit was on her bed when she came back. She didn't know what to expect. If it was anything like her opening ceremonies outfit, she had a right to be worried. But, to her surprise, it was just a black tank top with black jeans that went just below her knees. She sighed of relief and put it on. Then she went to bed. She might as well get as much sleep as she could before training, seeing as she would have to be around the other tributes.

She woke up to Josh shaking her awake.

"Get up. Training."

"Mmm," she turned over.

He shook her harder.

She stuck up her hand and put it over his mouth.

"'M up," she mumbled.

Josh grabbed the pillow from under her head and hit her with it. "Get up!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah, nice way to wake me up."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so you want me to throw water on you? I considered it, but then I realized you were in your training outfit. I didn't want you to be wet all day."

Aubrey was impressed. "Wow. You actually thought for once, and you were smart. I'm scared."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Get. Up. Training."

Aubrey sighed and got up, grumbling about how rude he was being.

Kerri was no where to be seen. Aubrey looked at the clock. It was 9:58.

"What? Does she expect us to leave on our own? I don't even know where the training room _is_!" Aubrey exclaimed. It's not that she _wanted_ Kerri to come, it's just that she was their _escort_ for a reason.

Josh shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't wanna be late, either. Let's just go."

They stepped into the elevator. Turns out, it was pretty easy to get to the training center. They just pressed the button labeled _Training Center._

When they walked in, almost everyone was there, except District Eleven and Six. Everyone was wearing different clothes, with their District numbers pinned on their backs.

"Why the fuck is everyone already here? It's not even ten yet," Aubrey whispered in Josh's ear.

"Why are we here?"

"Touche."

Someone came over to them to do theirs, and when that was done, Aubrey stood next to Josh.

After waiting a few seconds, Eleven came in, with Six trailing behind them. They got pinned, and the trainer, Letitia, started explaining all of the stations, and reminding them that all of them are important, and not to skip one just because it seemed like they didn't need it.

When she was done, Josh looked at her.

"What station first?"

Aubrey looked around, and saw everyone crowding around the weapons section.

"How about . . . plant identification? We'll ace that."

And they did. Josh was better than Aubrey because he spent years more in the woods, but she did pretty good to.

They went to camouflage next, and utterly failed.

Josh attempted to make Aubrey's arm look like a field grass, but it ended up looking like a green sky.

"You're supposed to make the grass different heights," The trainer suggested. "All of the blades of grass are going to the right. Try making some go to the left."

Josh did as he said.

"The other left," The trainer winced and suggested.

Aubrey stifled a laugh, but her lake didn't turn out any better.

"It looks like a blue circle. Just a blue circle. You should add some ripples."

Aubrey tried what he said.

"That's an r, not an n." The trainer blushed, and Aubrey did too. She had thought it was a weird request.

Josh laughed at her.

"Oh, shut up."

"You can't paint."

"Tell that to your field."

He scowled.

"Shut up."

Aubrey smirked. "How about we go use some weapons? This is great and all, but those knives look super pointy."

Josh rolled his eyes, but agreed.

They walked over to the weapons section. District Two was throwing spears, and the girl from One was throwing knives, while the boy was sword fighting with a trainer.

Aubrey led Josh over to the knives. "Come on. It'll be fun."

Josh huffed, but joined her.

Aubrey had to admit, she was having a lot of fun. The knives were proper throwing knives, and the targets gave her a challenge.

She threw knife after knife, trying hard to hit the bulls eye each time. She had fun adjusting to the Capital-made knives. She cursed when she missed, but it was usually only by a few centimeters. You train for a year, and you get pretty good at what you do. The Careers were perfect examples of that.

She was picking up another knife when she heard a voice

"You're pretty good."

She turned around to see Andy leaning on the knife rack, smiling at her. She also noticed a few other kids sneaking inconspicuous glances over at her.

Aubrey smiled a bit.

"Thanks."

"How'd you get so good?" **(** **A/N** **Seriously?! How'd isn't a word either? I will find a dictionary place and make them make this a word. How'd and how'll will conquer the world!)**

And there. He finally asked her the one thing she can't tell him.

"Hmm. I'll tell you later. Can't exactly tell you here."

Andy nodded, like he understood. "Okay. Wanna join me at the spears? Those knife targets are pretty much annihilated."

Aubrey grinned at him, and grabbed Josh, whose targets were not nearly as good. "Come on. To the spears we go!"

They went over to find the Two's gone, and someone else, Aubrey forgot who they were, there.

It was pretty fun throwing spears with those two. They kept making her laugh, causing her to miss her target. She was still pretty good. She was good at throwing things, but spears were heavier than knives, so they were a bit more difficult to throw.

Her and Andy were both good at it, though he was better, and Josh wasn't too bad, just not as good.

Andy told them that he speared fish back in Four, and it was like breathing to him.

Next, they went over the the swords. Josh dominated there. He beat the trainer more than half of the time. Aubrey was okay. She barely won any of the spars, and she almost cut her own head off with the blade. She decided to stick with knives. Andy was between the two. He could hold the sword right, and he gave the trainer a run for his money, but he wasn't as good as Josh.

They called for lunch, and the three headed over to the cafeteria.

After sitting down with their lunch, they started noticing the looks they were getting.

"Must be because we're sitting together," Andy suggested. "Districts usually sit together, or away from each other. And your performances were good. It was unusual for District Twelve. No offense. "

Aubrey shook her head. "None taken. I know we suck."

Andy gave her a reassuring smile. "Now, about earlier . . . How are you so good with knives? And you so good with swords?"

Josh shrugged, and shoveled down some pasta.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, and said in a low voice, "We trained. Ever since the end of the last games. This idiot here is pretty good in hand to hand combat, and great in swords. I'm great with knives and hand to hand combat. Josh knows a lot about plants, and we both suck in camouflage, or so we figured out today."

Josh and Aubrey laughed.

Andy raised an eyebrow. "You can't be _that_ bad."

Josh laughed harder. "Y . . . yeah. Tell that to her lake with nipples."

Andy blushed and exclaimed, "What?!"

Aubrey laughed a little. "What? That's what I thought he said. I knew it was weird . . . And his field of grass was just as bad. The trainer suggested he put his grass to the left, and Josh apparently doesn't know his left from his right, because the trainer had to say, "the other left"."

Josh blushed, and Aubrey and Andy laughed.

After lunch, they went to knot tying. Andy was a natural.

"We have to make our own nets for the fish," he explained.

They moved on to fire making. Josh and Andy could successfully start fires without using matches, and Aubrey could do it using coal.

Aubrey won most of the matches when they went to hand to hand combat, and Josh did too. Andy won about half.

They all sucked with building shelters. Archery was much better. Well, Josh couldn't shoot to save his life, and Andy wasn't much better. Aubrey was okay. She only hit the bulls-eye once because Andy accidentally bumped her arm and it moved the arrow, but she still counted it. She had relatively good accuracy, but not all weapons were the same. She didn't expect to kill anyone using a bow. She could injure them if they were standing still, but not kill.

When Aubrey went back to their floor, she was tired, and she just wanted to eat and go to bed. So she did. Dinner consisted of a lecture from Kerri about leaving her.

"I was so worried!" she squawked.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but Kerri caught her, and that led to another lecture.

By the time dinner was over, Aubrey was bone tired. She collapsed in her bed and fell asleep.

The next three days passed by uneventfully. They woke up, ate breakfast, and trained. Aubrey didn't even notice the Gamemakers until the second day. They were watching them, and occasionally writing stuff down on clipboards.

When the private training day rolled around, Aubrey was conflicted. She didn't know what to do. Should she try for a high score? Or go for a low score?

While she was sitting in a room with the other tributes, she decided to ask Josh.

He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well," he started, "You've already shown your skills during training, so it wouldn't make any sense to go for a low score. The Careers would think you're being shady, or trying to hide something. I'd say to just go big or go home."

"Can I go home, then?"

Josh glared at her. "You know what I mean."

The first tribute got called in. The boy from District one.

Aubrey sighed and thought about home. She wondered how things were going back there. Was Arianna okay? Was Zane okay? How were they holding up? Was Cady still oblivious? Aubrey played with her fingers and nervously waited until Andy got called. Aubrey gave him a bright smile, and he shot a nervous one back. She held her thumbs up. She knew he'd do great. He _was_ a Career, after all.

She watched as the room slowly trickled out, until it was just her and Josh. Then he got called.

"Wish me luck," he said.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Like you'll need it if you do the sword thing."

"Do the sword thing?"

"You know what I mean! Now go."

She shoved him towards the door.

She fingered her hands, and waited until she was called. She shakily stood up, and started towards the door.

When she walked in, it was quiet. All of the Gamemakers were looking a bit impressed, and guessed it had to do with Josh. She held back a smirk and walked into the room.

Some of the Gamemakers were holding drinks in their hands, and some had food, but they were mostly paying attention to her.

 _Good._ She thought. _they'll want to pay attention to this._

She didn't waste any time walking over to the knife rack. All of those beautifully crafted knives. She picked up the first one, steadying her hand, and threw it. It landed a centimeter away from the bulls-eye. She heard some murmurs of surprise, but that wasn't good enough for her.

She picked up the second one, eyeing the target like it was a meal, and threw it.

It hit the bulls-eye.

As did the next, and the next, until the fifteen minutes had run out.

"Dismissed."

Aubrey left the room, taking one last glance back. The Gamemakers were quite funny looking, with their shocked faces, and furious scribbling on their clip boards. Aubrey let her smirk show, and left the room.

When she got the her floor, no one was there. Aubrey didn't feel like being alone, so she went into Josh's room to wait until the scores got announced.

He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Aubrey pushed him to the side and sat down on his bed next to him. He glared at her.

"I was there."

"Yeah? Well, now I'm here. Get over it."

Josh smiled. "There's my rude Aubrey. That nervous Aubrey was making me kind of scared. I'm glad you're back."

Aubrey scoffed. "Well, that smart Josh was making _me_ scared."

Josh just sighed. That's how she knew something was wrong.

"Hey, what's up?"

He turned his head to look over at her, playing with his hands. "It's just . . . nerves. Memories. I keep thinking of home, about what's coming. We only have two more days of guaranteed safety, Aubrey. _Two days_. Reality has finally set it, and it hurts." His voice cracked and became lower. "I don't want to lose you, Aubrey. I don't want to win and come home just to find you gone. I don't. I already lost my father and my brother. I can't afford to lose you, too."

Aubrey turned towards him, and took his hand. She was usually terrible at consoling people, but this was Josh. He was family.

"I don't want to lose you either. I don't want to go back home without you. But I also don't want them, back home, to be saddened by us dying. One of us has to win, and if it comes down to it, I'll gladly die for you. And I know you'll do the same. We have to protect each other, and make sure one of us makes it home alive." She wiped a tear off of Josh's face, while trying not to cry herself. "I love you Josh, I really do, and I don't want to see you go, but we both know one of us has to."

Josh smiled sadly. "Never thought the day would come when you would admit you loved me. But I love you too. I wish this wasn't happening. But I know it has to. We have to become murders. We have to kill people. Even if it is for survival, does that make it any better?"

Aubrey sighed and they sat in comfortable silence, both staring at the ceiling, thinking of home.

Dinner that night was rough. Aubrey and Josh were morbid, and the table lacked their usual jokes. Kerri, of course, didn't notice, and blabbered on about how close the games were coming, making their nerves even worse. By the time dinner was over, both of them were practically shaking.

When they sat down for the training scores, Aubrey was thinking about the other tributes. As far as she knew, they were just obstacles. And they were in the way of her going home.

It was a bit off from the usual. The careers usually scored high, but not this year. District Two both got 9's, and District One's girl got an eight, while the boy got a 9. Andy got a 9, and the girl got a 8. The Careers usually got mostly nines or tens. The other districts were average, until the boy from Nine got a 8. She told herself to keep an eye on him.

Josh got a 8. Aubrey was so excited for him. He looked surprised.

"And last, but most definitely not least, we have Aubrey Oric with a score of . . . " Caesar paused for effect.

 _Oh, just get on with it, you lump!_ she wanted to yell at him.

" . . . Nine!"

Aubrey's mouth was wide open. A nine?! Not that she was complaining! She had expected a seven or something.

After a lot of congratulations, Aubrey and Josh set off towards their rooms.

Aubrey grabbed Josh's arm. "A good night's sleep will make this better," Aubrey told Josh, but she didn't let go of his arm.

"Let's hope." Neither of them moved.

Aubrey sighed. "I know we both really don't want to go to bed, but we have to."

They finally moved, saying goodbye. Aubrey was wary of going to sleep, because that would just make the dreaded day come by faster. But she knew she had to, and she fell fast asleep only moments after laying down.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hello, my lovelies! These chapters are so fun to write, but with the arena coming up I'm slowly getting more nervous for reasons I don't even know! I have a layout for the arena, but I pretty much have no plans from there on. Just a lot of people are gonna die and yah. But do not worry, I will write those chapters, no matter how much I don't want to! Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad after all. I've got a few little scenes mapped out, but I might not put them in there.**

 **Chapter Sixteen: Interview Prep and Elevator Fun**

Aubrey had three words to describe how the interview training went.

It fucking sucked.

She would have rather gone skydiving off of the tallest building in the Capitol without a parachute than have gone to training. Kerri was . . . for lack of anything good to say about her, a major pain in her ass. Kerri gave her an urge to stab herself in the head with a rusty knife.

First, Kerri woke them up extra early to start. What could Kerri teach her that could take more than an hour?

She wished she'd never found out.

Then, she made them eat a quick breakfast so Aubrey couldn't even eat all that she wanted to. Afterwards she dragged Aubrey and Josh—albeit reluctantly—to a room filled with horrors. There were dresses and suits and heels and make up and _so_ much more. Aubrey tried to run, but she didn't even make it three feet away to the door before Kerri laughed happily and grabbed her am.

"Oh, nothing in here will kill you. Come on! It'll be fun!"

 _Yeah._ she thought. _Nothing will kill me but the shoes when I trip and break my neck_.

Josh just stared open mouthed at it all, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Kerri shuffled them farther into the room and gestured toward a dress and a suit.

"Here. Try these on, then come right back so we can start practicing right away!"

Aubrey wondered what they were going to practice, but she didn't think she wanted to know, even though she knew she was going to find out soon.

She picked up the purple dress and sighed, sensing her death wasn't going happen because she was killed in the games, but because she was choked by a dress.

After putting it on and going back to the room, she discovered that the dress wasn't even the worst part. The six inch heels were. Aubrey was thinking about how she could escape when Josh came out in his suit and Kerri clapped her hands.

"Aright! If you're going to be broadcast in front of the whole country, you sure as hell won't be going out Looking like this! You have to walk right, say the right things, know how to bow or courtesy, know how not to break your neck while walking on steps in heels, know how to laugh and still look presentable—and a lot more. You guys . . . you're from the districts, so I guess it's not really your fault that you don't have any posture, or manners, or _anything_ —but, nevertheless, I am here to help. Now, put on these heels— _not you Josh—_ and start walking back and forth. You'll walk until you don't look like you're having a seizure. And you, Josh, get over here and show me how to bow!" Kerri started barking out orders like she was commanding a war, and not like she was teaching them manners.

Aubrey put the heels on and got up, and immediately fell down after the first step she took.

Kerri was over there in 2.5 seconds yelling at her to straighten her back, to lift her head, to tense her legs— _Blah blah blah_ was all she heard for all she was concerned.

Aubrey sighed. It was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Aubrey and Josh basically ran to lunch. Along the way, heels and jewelry and ties were thrown across the floor, quickly forgotten as they escaped their prison. Aubrey now knew everything there was to know about how to act on interviews and more. Not that she ever wanted to know in the first place, but she did. Aubrey sighed as she threw off the tight belt on her dress and inhaled the sweet scent of freedom.

"Finally free . . . " Aubrey muttered as she shoveled down some rice.

"Oh, it wasn't _that_ bad!" Kerri exclaimed, as she walked in behind them, smiling her face off like she wasn't ready to strangle them just a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, because _You_ didn't fall and almost snap your neck on a chair!" Aubrey glared at her.

"Pish posh! Tomato, tomato, whatever." **( A/N Only afterwards when I was editing this did I realize how insane this sounded if you didn't know what I meant. It's like tomato tomotoe, even though that spelling needs some serious help because I spelled it wrong on purpose!)**

Aubrey scowled and continued to eat her food.

"Alright," Kerri said, after they all finished their lunch. "Training is over, since we don't have a Victor to teach you, so I guess you can go do whatever now."

Aubrey frowned. That was it? No training on anything that could actually help her in the arena?

She voiced her opinions to Josh as they left the room.

"We didn't even learn anything life saving."

"You don't call knowing how to die in style with your hair still fresh lifesaving?"

Aubrey punched him in the shoulder and rolled her eyes.

"Well? Where are we gonna go? I don't wanna hang around here all day, and we can't really leave so . . ."

Josh thought about it, then he smirked.

"Well, we can't leave the building, but nobody ever specified whether or not we could leave our floor."

Aubrey turned towards him, a smile already forming on her previously scowling face.

"What are you thinking?" she had a guess, and if she was right, they were gonna have _so_ much fun.

Josh looked at her.

"You down?"

Aubrey smiled even bigger, if that was possible. Josh was always ready when she had a crazy idea, and it was the same for her. Staying out of trouble was imperative for her, but she just couldn't seem to do it. Getting into trouble was a lot more fun.

"You know I'm down."

"Then let's go. Onward!" Josh raised a fist in the air.

Aubrey shook her head at his foolishness and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the elevator. "What button?" she asked.

"Any one but the roof button."

Aubrey thought about it for a second, then she pressed the District Nine button.

Oh, they were going to get into _so_ much trouble.

After waiting for a few seconds and hearing a quick ding, they were deposited on the floor. No one was in the room but a servant, and if he noticed them, he didn't say anything. Not like he could anyway, since he was a _fucking avox._

Aubrey tried not to laugh as she and Josh sneaked around, ending up in a hallway.

"I hope we don't get lost," Josh whispered to her.

"Shh!" she shushed him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" someone yelled. Aubrey flinched so hard she almost hit Josh in the face with her arm. "Wipe this off me NOW you insolent little rodent! Before I crush you like a little bug! Oh, my father will NOT stand for this! He'll have you killed! My mother will rip your throat out! You hear me! OUT!" some girl screamed.

Aubrey wrestled down a cackling laugh. She vaguely remembered that the District Nine girl had a mother as a Victor, and a powerful father who worked as an assistant to the president or something. She was born from some scandal that had been brewing for awhile unknown.

What? She read some of the magazines that the Capitol sent her sister when she was bored.

"Come on, she must still be in training!" Aubrey whispered to him.

They quietly crept around the corner before coming to a door that was thrown wide open. They had just enough time to dive back around the corner before a servant stumbled out with an empty glass in his hand, and a scared look in his eyes.

After he left in the opposite direction of them, they peeked through the open door. A girl was standing in the middle of the room fuming, with the front half of her outfit—an expensive looking dress—covered in a red liquid. Aubrey guessed the servant had spilled it on her, and that's why she yelled at him.

The escort was trying relentlessly to calm her down.

"I wonder what she's saying," Josh said.

"Probably, 'don't worry, that dress only cost three thousand dollars'. Or maybe, 'at least that isn't blood. Be grateful, bitch'."

Josh smiled at that. "Doubt it."

The girl was still clenching her fists at her sides, and the escort gave up.

"I think it's time for us to bounce out of here before we get caught," Aubrey said, backing away from the door as she did.

They both ran to the door, snickering at what they found. They ran right into a mentor, who was carrying a bottle of alcohol.

"Whaaa? The heck—?"Aubrey tackled him before he could see them, and ran to the elevator and jumped in. Aubrey slammed her hand against the buttons, not caring where they went as long as it was away from there. The doors closed just as he got off of the ground. She was so lucky he was drunk. Victors had instincts like a professional ninja. If he was sober, she'd probably already have a glass bottle sticking out of her head.

It was silent in the elevator.

Aubrey and Josh looked at each other.

They burst out laughing, holding their sides and gasping for air.

"T—that was awesome!" Aubrey concluded.

"I cannot _believe_ we didn't get caught!" Josh laughed some more.

"That girl was being a complete drama queen."

"I absolutely, positively cannot believe you tackled that guy!"

"He was in the way!"

The elevator doors dinged, and they stepped off of it.

"Uh," Josh started, looking around. "Where are we?"

Aubrey shrugged as they walked around a bit. "I don't know. Let's just hope I don't have to tackle anymore people."

"What?"

Aubrey and Josh spun around, their hearts practically leaping into their throats at the sound of a voice that wasn't either of theirs.

Aubrey put a hand over her heart and took a few shaky breaths.

"You—you scared the fucking shit out of me, you stupid piece of—"

"Do _not_ do that again!" Josh screamed, rather late.

Andy smiled, and twirled a piece of his shirt around his finger.

"Oops?"

"When I get my hands on you . . ." Aubrey trailed off, still trying to control her heart rate.

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Aubrey just glared at him, since they both knew the threat was empty.

"What are you guys doing here?" Andy decided to break the silence.

Aubrey and Josh both looked at each other and laughed again.

Andy just stared at them like they were crazy—not like they weren't—and waited for them to stop.

"We—we were bored, so we decided to leave our floor," Aubrey started, once she somewhat gathered herself. "And we ended up on the tribute for District Nine's door, right? So we crept around a little bit, and then the girl stared screaming because a servant spilled a drink on her. She was wearing this expensive dress too, it was so funny. Then we decided to leave, and when we did, on of the mentors ran into us, so—"

"She—she tackled him!" Josh screamed, laughing as he said it.

Aubrey laughed a little too. "He was drunk. I would be dead if he wasn't."

Andy laughed his adorable laugh, his dimples becoming evident. "True. I'm bored too. My mentors are done already, and I don't have anything to do. My partner is a right jerk, so she won't want to do anything but try to seduce me."

Aubrey laughed.

"No, I'm serious. She put a pill in my drink to make me delirious so I would agree to go out with her."

Aubrey laughed even harder at the idea of him being seduced.

Andy punched her arm lightly and she pulled him and Josh into the elevator.

Andy shot a questioning look at her.

"My floor is pretty much empty."

He nodded, and she pressed the button to her floor.

When they got there, Kerri was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Kerri?" she asked, even though she didn't really care.

"Who?" Andy asked.

"The escort for our district."

"Oh."

She then looked at the table, where there was a note on the table saying she was visiting some escort friends from other districts.

"She has friends?" Aubrey muttered.

"Cool," Josh said. "We've got the whole place to ourselves!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Down boy. There's still the servants, and it's not like she was ever really around anyway."

"Don't ruin my dreams. And what am I, a dog?"

"Glad you noticed."

"If I'm a dog, then you're a female dog."

"What are you, 10? That joke is so old."

"Your mom is so old."

"Shut the—"

"Guys," Andy cut in. "Come on. Let's go."

Aubrey sighed and glared one more time at Josh before leading them to her room.

They all stood in the room until Aubrey sat on her bed, her back against the headboard. Josh and Andy sat with their backs against the wall to the right of her, Josh with his legs pulled up to his chin, and Andy with his legs crossed. Andy was to the left of Josh, closer to Aubrey.

"What should we do?" Aubrey asked.

"We could have a threesome," Josh helpfully suggested.

"Thanks for that very _helpful_ suggestion, Josh."

"So is that a yes or—"

"Of course it's not a yes, you stupid idiot!"

"Stupid and idiot mean the same thing."

Andy held Aubrey back from strangling Josh.

"You know what I mean!"

"I won't know what you mean unless you say it."

Aubrey, fed up with him, kicked him where it hurt.

"Ow! What the f—"

He was cut off by Andy's laughter. He was practically asking for it, with his legs pulled up and all.

"Dude, help a guy out!" Josh said.

Aubrey started laughing along with Andy, who was still laughing. Even though she acted like she was annoyed, she really loved seeing the playful side of Josh. He was always so serious and sarcastic.

After calming down, they started to talk about normal things—or as normal as you can get with those three. Andy had to sneak back to his room when it got late, and Josh banged his face on the door frame when he left, causing Aubrey to laugh. They all fell asleep, the worries of the future forgotten about, even if it was just for a little while.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hello! This is a long chapter. I really like this chapter. It goes a bit more in depth about how Aubrey really feels about going into the games. She's human too, so she's really nervous and scared. It also shows a bit more about Aubrey and Josh's relationship. They are strictly platonic, like brother and sister friends. They can snuggle on a couch together, but it's not romantic. And Andy miiiiiiiiiight have a teeeeeeeeeny crush on Aubrey. He just thinks she's really beautiful and amazing, and he's bi so he might have a crush on Josh too, which would be unfortunate because they'll both probably die. Aubrey also does not have a crush on Andy. They are friends (to her), the type to hug a lot and give each other kisses on the cheek. She has Zane, and I ship that far too much to ever break them up. Oh, but then this chapter comes and then that seems kind of fake but okay. You'll find out later.**

 **Chapter Seventeen:** **The Interviews**

Aubrey woke up to the wonderful sight of her prep team above her. Romonia tapped her watch in a _hurry up_ gesture, and Violet waved. The other guy, his name was Chicken Alfredo or something, just looked at her in annoyance. She vaguely remembered Andy going back to his floor at sometime around three A.M., and Josh going to is room around that time too.

"We've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes," Romonia complained.

"My bad," Aubrey said sarcastically.

Obviously they didn't get it, because Romonia looked pleased.

"Just hurry up. We've only got a few minutes to get you to the prep room before we go over our time limit of waking you up," Chicken Alfredo said, still annoyed.

Aubrey huffed, but got up. She remembered it was interview day. Yay. She got to be questioned in front of the whole country. Double yay.

The team led her through a few doors, and soon they reached the prep room.

 _All my nightmares happen in this place,_ Aubrey thought.

They ushered her in the room and plopped her in the chair.

"What the hell happened to your nails?!" Romonia screeched, after examining them.

"Um . . . I may have chipped a few of them when I dropped a forty pound ball on my hand during training."

Aubrey winced just thinking about it. That had not been fun. And Josh had laughed at her, totally not making things better.

Romonia glared at her before yelling something about getting the water in the bath ready.

Great.

They worked for hours, and every second was pure torture. She couldn't decide which part she hated more. When Romonia spilled some bathing chemical in her eye (it was not an accident), or when Chicken Alfredo ripped of a wax strip too soon (also not an accident). Like she needed to be waxed. They just did it a few days ago, for goodness' sake! Violet was the gentlest, always being careful with what she was doing. Aubrey hated her the least. The team put a little bit of make up on her, though she wasn't allowed to see it yet. They made her skin glow, and curled her hair in a way she couldn't see. They didn't finish until sometime after noon.

They stood back, admiring her.

"Looks good," Romonia commented. "Not you. The work we did."

Aubrey glared at her. _Thanks, love you too._

"She looks good too," Violet slapped Romonia's arm.

"We did good. Come on, Purria's waiting," Chicken Alfredo said, and they all walked out.

Purria walked in as soon as they left.

She circled around her.

"Good, good. Alfred did a good job with your eyebrows. And Violet—"

"Who is Alfred?" Aubrey interrupted her.

"Your stylist. He's the only guy on your team."

Oh. So his name wasn't Chicken Alfredo, it was Alfred.

Eh, close enough.

Purria handed her a dress.

"Here. Put this on, but close your eyes."

Aubrey did as she said, and when she was done putting it on, Purria moved her over to where she guessed was in front of a mirror.

"Open you eyes."

Aubrey did.

She gasped.

She looked beautiful.

Hey hair was in a complicated bun, with some bangs on the right side of her face, reaching her eye, and the edges curled slightly. The bangs had red highlights in it. Her eyes were lined by black eyeliner, the tip ending a wing with orange purple dots surrounding the wing. Her eyelids had a soft purple on them, and her lips were also purple. The dress she was wearing was black and sleeveless, going all the way down to the floor. The dress was all black until a little bit under the waist line, where the black became (gasp) orange, red, and purple. There was pink translucent silk covering over the bottom part, and a belt at the waist. **(** **A/N** **Dress Link in bio)**

"Wow," She said, breathless. She liked this much better than the Tribute Parade outfit. She wasn't sure what to expect, but this dress was beautiful.

"You like it?" Purria asked, smirking.

"I—I love it."

Aubrey wasn't what you would call a lover of dresses, but this one was amazing.

"Yes, yes. It is very pretty. But the wearer of the dress is just a responsible for the beauty as the dress is. Come on."

Purria winked at her and walked out of the door.

Aubrey followed her, shocked.

Did Purria just call her beautiful?

They walked to the elevator, and Kerri was already there, along with Josh and a guy that must have been his stylist.

Josh looked at her and whistled.

"Looking good, Bre," he said, smiling cheekily.

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but was secretly thankful for his words. She was feeling nervous about the interviews, and she knew he meant what he said.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

And he didn't. He was wearing a black suit with a grey tie, which really brought out his eyes.

They went into the elevator, and when they arrived wherever they were, some tributes were already there, but no one was lining up. Maybe Andy was there.

"Come on."

Aubrey grabbed Josh's hand, and she pushed past a few people before she saw him in the corner of the room, tugging uncomfortably on his tie. He was talking to his district partner, and while she was smiling her face off and obviously flirting, he was frowning and fidgeting.

Aubrey grabbed Andy's hand and said, "Production needs you."

She pulled him away.

He smiled at her.

"Thank you. Really. That was the most uncomfortable thing I've done all day."

Aubrey laughed and said, "Glad I could save you."

She took the chance to study him. He had on a black long sleeved dress shirt, with a gold tie. His pants were also black, along with black shoes. He looked stunning. His hair was curly and messy, but a styled kind of messy, like he took a long walk on the beach. His eyes were still their beautiful gold color. Aubrey was glad for those eyes. They amazed her. She'd never seen any eyes in person other than the blue eyes of the Merchants, and the grey and occasional brown eyes of the Seam kids. She was glad no one changed his eyes.

Andy was looking at her.

"You look gorgeous."

"I know. My stylists did a good job."

"I wasn't talking about the make up or the dress. You just look beautiful."

Aubrey blushed. This boy . . . he was going to be the death of her.

"T—Thanks," she stuttered out. "You look amazing too."

Andy smiled kindly at her, his gold eyes lighting up like someone shined the sun on them. "Thanks. Come on, we're supposed to be lining up."

Aubrey look behind her. He was right. The other tributes were already sitting down, and some were just arriving.

Aubrey and Andy parted, and Aubrey felt dizzy just glancing at the crowd. There were so many people there, and it wasn't even half of their population.

Josh's hand found her's, and Aubrey was glad for the extra support. She knew Josh got nervous around big crowds, and a crowd this size must be agonizing for him. She squeezed his hand reassuringly and smiled warmly at him. He gave her a nervous smile back, and his grey eyes displayed a million emotion. She could see the wall he often had when around new people up. When she first met him, he acted like a huge jerk, and he seemed arrogant. Now that Aubrey knew him better, she knew it was just a cover up. He was actually pretty nice, and he could be really sheepish and nervous at times. She found it cute. He could also be a smart-alec too.

The first tribute was called. The girl's name was Crystal. Not as bad as Sparkle, and it was an actual name. She talked about how she could be very cunning and smart, and how she knew she was going to win the games because no one knew what tricks she had in store. She looked like a stereotypical beauty, but her eyes displayed her intelligence. Aubrey could tell she was very different from the regular District One tributes. She also couldn't stop her eyes from appreciating how nice her legs looked in her dress. They looked really, _really_ good.

 _You have a boyfriend,_ she told herself.

 _And you have a stupid opinion. I can look, but I can't touch._

Next up was the boy, Gem, and he talked about his family, and how he wanted to win so they could get the money. Aubrey wanted to call bullshit. She knew he was just trying to gain sponsors by having some pitiful story so they would feel sorry for him. It was a brilliant idea, which immediately told her that he didn't come up with it.

Baronialia came on next. Aubrey couldn't even pronounce her name right. She talked about how she was going to brutally kill every tribute, and that she was going to win by sheer force. Aubrey smirked when Caesar checked her, telling Baronialia that strength couldn't beat everything. She told him to watch her.

The guy, Jackson, was up. He didn't seem all that bad, until he started going into a detailed explanation of how he planned on killing each district's tributes, giving them ironic deaths. He got cut off by the buzzer when he was explaining how he would tie the tributes from District Seven to a tree and cut their heads off with an ax, and no one was sad that he couldn't continue. Aubrey was officially creeped out at that point. She absentmindedly wondered how he was going to kill her and Josh.

It was boring until Andy's District partner, Layla, went on stage. She was all smiles and sunshine, blowing a kiss at the crowd, and radiating flirty vibes. Her dress was green, sparkly, and see-through. It didn't take a District Three tribute to find out what angle she was going for. She succeeded. The crowd went wild, and all the men were under her spell. She was alluring in every way (though Aubrey would never admit it).

Andy went on, and he was amazing. He told them about how his mom was a Victor and he wanted to make her proud. He talked about how he had a good strategy, and he winked flirtatiously at the crowd. He even had Caesar awed. Aubrey rolled her eyes when he started going on about how he would win. She knew all of it was bull, but he was a great actor. She could only tell how he really felt by the way his eyes looked sad. Aubrey knew he wasn't as confident as he seemed. He had a lot of doubts.

When he left the stage things got boring again. As the girl from District Eleven finished up, Aubrey began to get nervous. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? She wasn't good with people like Arianna. She couldn't act mysterious, or alluring. Zane would say otherwise (he claims she's plenty alluring), but she didn't know what to do.

The boy went on and Aubrey's palms were moist and she felt Josh squirming in his chair. She was about five seconds away from finding the nearest exit and running out of it when the buzzer sounded.

"Please welcome to the stage Aubrey Oric, from District Twelve!"

Aubrey just about threw up when he said that. Instead, she pried Josh's hand from hers and stood up, smoothing down her already smooth dress.

 _You can do this._

Aubrey slowly walked to the stage, hoping she could evade her death by embarrassment, but Caesar was already smiling in her direction.

 _Fuck._

She walked over to her seat, her heartbeat ringing in her ears.

 _I can do this, I can do this, I can do this._

She chanted that phrase in her head over and over again, until she reached the chair. She sat down, quivering slightly, and looked at Caesar. He smiled at her, and she looked toward the crowd. They were all cheering, and, for some odd reason, she was reassured by this.

"Well, hello, Miss Oric!"

Caesar bowed in his chair.

Aubrey resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hello to you too, Caesar."

She was surprised how calm she sounded. She was the exact opposite in her head. All she could hear in her mind was muffled screaming.

"Alright, alright." Caesar calmed down the crowd with a few waves of his hand. "So, Aubrey, how is the Capitol?"

Aubrey lifted her head up, staring Caesar right in the eye. She was starting to feel angry. He was asking her like she was on vacation, and not about to die. Her anger was taking away her nervousness.

"It's been great. Just like home, only 100 times better," she said in a calculated voice.

"Yes, it's quite amazing, isn't it?"

Aubrey's eye almost twitched.

"Yes. The buildings are magnificent, the colors are so vibrant. I've never seen anything like it.

"Why, of course not. Now, onto more important things. Do you think you can win the games?"

"Well, I know I can win the games. Any of us can, since there has to be a winner." The crowd laughed, and Caesar smiled, even though it wasn't even funny. "But whether I will or not? I guess we'll have to find out." She winked at him.

"Any reason you want to win?"

"For my family. I want us to live a better life." Like they needed the money. "I want to go home to them." That part was true.

"Anyone in particular?"

Aubrey blushed just thinking about Zane. His dark hair, the way he always smelled like pine trees, the way he was always so gentle with her. She missed him so much, and it was times like these when she needed him most.

Aubrey smiled apologetically and shrugged.

"Oh, a girl like yourself must have someone waiting for you. Come on, out with it."

"Well . . . there might be a boy . . ." Aubrey brushed a piece of her bangs behind her ear.

"A boy, eh?" _Is that not what I just said?_ "He must be a good lad to get you." _That he is._

"Yes, very nice."

"Now, onto the games. Do you have a strategy to win?"

Aubrey pretended to look thoughtful.

"I might. Just outsmart the others, stay alive as long as I can. Just wing it."

That was only a half truth. She didn't really have a plan, but at the same time she did.

Caesar nodded his head. "Outsmarting the others is a good strategy. Like I was just telling Baronialia here, you can't win using only force. You've got to have brains, too." _You'd know a lot about that._

"Yes."

"Any skills?"

"Sorry, Caesar, but you'll have to find out."

He started asking a few questions about her life at home. She tried to give as little information as possible.

The buzzer sounded right after she made a comment about the food.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. Aubrey, from District Twelve!" Everyone cheered again, and Aubrey walked off of the stage with a small smile on her face.

When Josh passed by her, she grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, "It's not as hard as it looks. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine. Caesar will make things easier." Aubrey knew well enough that Josh was about ready to jump off the stage into the crowd and let them have at him.

He gave her a big smile, and she shot him a thumbs up.

She sat back down, staring at the screen that showed Josh and Caesar shaking hands.

"How are you doing today, Caesar?"

"Fine, fine. You?"

"Just dandy."

"What do you think of the Capitol?"

"Oh, it's pretty nice. You know, when I'm not getting lost trying to find my way to my room after dinner."

The crowd laughed, and Aubrey smiled. He was doing great.

"Oh, yes. Me too. But for different reasons. The food—it's amazing. I have trouble walking after eating such a big meal."

The crowd laughed again.

"The food? Oh man, let not even start on that. The chicken—I've never eaten chicken so good 'til I got here. You Capitol people know how it's done."

Caesar and the crowd laughed and cheered.

They talked for a little bit more about the Capitol before shifting over to Josh's life.

"Any girl back home? Maybe Aubrey?"

Josh laughed and blushed.

"A—Aubrey? No, she's my best friend, pretty much my sister. I'd never date her, though she is very beautiful," Aubrey smiled. "But if she was my biological sister, things would get very weird."

"Why is that?"

"It's a bit weird to date your brother, isn't it?"

Caesar laughed, though he looked confused. "Oh, I can imagine. So, if not Aubrey, who?"

Josh rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, there's this girl . . . but we decided to be friends. I still like her, though. But we can never be together."

Caesar looked confused.

"Why ever not?"

"Because I don't think I could live with myself if Aubrey ever got hurt."

The audience cooed, and Aubrey smiled sadly.

"That's tough."

"Yeah. But that's life."

 _No it's not!_ Aubrey wanted to scream. _Life should not include innocent children dying!_

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will all turn out right in the end."

"Thanks."

They moved on to strategies, and Josh told them he had a plan.

"Care to share?"

"It's a secret. Sorry." That was Josh's way of saying, 'I don't know.'

The buzzer sounded.

"Farewell! Joshua Vison-Mellark, tribute of District Twelve!"

Josh came back and sat next to her.

Aubrey smiled and turned to look at him. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

He shook his head and a smile touched his lips.

"No, it was fine. Can't believe I was so nervous."

They all stood up for the anthem, then headed for the elevator. Aubrey held the door for Andy.

"You were great," she said, giving him a tight hug.

"You too. The crowd loved you."

"Oh, they loved you more, Mr. flirtatious."

Andy blushed.

"Shut up."

Aubrey laughed at him.

The doors opened on his floor.

Aubrey grabbed his hand when he started to leave. "Meet me on the roof after dinner. Okay?"

He nodded. "See you there."

The doors zoomed back up the their floor, and the team was waiting for them.

"Why, that was absolutely lovely!" Kerri went on about how great it was. Aubrey swore she even saw _Purria_ roll her eyes.

Aubrey rushed to her room and changed into a black shirt with a blue hoodie over it, and black jeans, taking a second to admire her dress, knowing she'd never see it again.

Aubrey looked around for her shoes, then she remembered that she left them with Kerri.

 _Damn._

She walked over to Kerri's room, and knocked on the door quietly.

"Yes?"

Kerri opened the door, bright and bubbly.

"Um, are my shoes in here? From prep yesterday?"

Kerry looked thoughtful (was that real?) and tapped her chin.

"Yes! They are, near the closet somewhere. I'm going to dinner, remember, five minutes until then! Don't dillydally or you'll be late."

"Yes, yes."

Kerri walked away, and Aubrey searched for her shoes. She bent down near the closet and looked, but she couldn't find them. She stood up and bumped her head on something.

"Ow!"

She looked at what she had hit, and her heart skipped a beat.

 _It was a phone._

Aubrey felt her stomach clench with all of the possibilities. She could call home, but she'd only have five minutes before Kerri got suspicious.

Aubrey picked up the phone and dialed her house number, the one she had memorized by heart.

The phone rang twice before someone picked it up.

"Hello?"

Aubrey's heart skipped a beat.

 _It was Zane._

"Z—Zane? What are you doing there?"

" _Aubrey_!?" he yelled.

"Y—yeah!"

She heard him laugh and make a choking sound.

"Oh, how rich. such great timing."

"What do you mean?"

"We were just talking about you."

"We?"

Aubrey heard someone yell in the background, "Aubrey? Aubrey where? You're talking to Aubrey?" It was Arianna!

"Yes. Me and your sister."

"What were you talking about?"

She heard him hesitate for a second.

"You and . . . him."

Aubrey felt her stomach drop.

"Him?"

"Yes. You and that boy—Sandwich?"

Aubrey sighed. "I know you know his name. It's Andy—Andrew. And why are you talking about us—not that there is an us?"

Zane started to get angry, and Aubrey could hear it in his voice.

"Andy, a nickname? You two seem a little buddy-buddy, don't you?"

Aubrey held her head in her hand.

"Really? I find some way, miraculously, to call you from my death sentence, and you want to talk about _me and some boy_?"

Zane sounded confident.

"Yes! I saw you two talking before the chariot rides. I know he was flirting. I saw you, I saw how he looked at you."

Despite being exasperated at him, Aubrey couldn't help but blush at the thought of him seeing her in her parade outfit.

"That—that was nothing. He came to talk to me because he knows the truth about Arianna and her games."

"Sure." He brushed aside what she said and continued. "I also saw you two today, during the interviews. He was eyeing you like candy. and you two were flirting, again!"

Aubrey could feel her anger bubbling inside of her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I speak to you, mind you, for the first time since I was forcefully taken away from my district to be in a deathmatch and you want to bring up some bullshit because of your jealousy?"

"I'm not—"

"Shut the fuck up! Yes you are! If you're just going to go on like this, acting like you're my fucking dad and I went out on a date, I'll hang up!"

"Well," he retorted, "maybe you did go on a date! I wouldn't know, seeing as I'm here and you're there!"

"I'M HERE TO FUCKING DIE! You wanna be here? Then fucking come you asshole! Be my guest, we can all die together! Brother, brother and his girlfriend. Whoopdedoo, a fucking party!"

Zane seemed shocked for a moment, then he said quietly, "That's not what I meant—"

"What did you mean then?" she cut him off. "You saw me before I left, scared as hell, and now you throw this in my face like I'm here for a business meeting? Fuck off."

"Aubrey—"

"No, don't use that tone on me. You started this, and I'm damn sure going to end it. You can take your jealous ass and go fuck yourself. I called you, I actually called my sister, to hear your voice, to be reassured. Because that's what you do. You reassure me, you make me feel better. But not now.

"You treat me like I'm some fucking dog that you're scolding, like I'm gonna apologize and let you pet me. I don't even like Andy. And he's fucking gay anyway, you jealous prick."

He was only bisexaul, like her, but it couldn't hurt to dig the cut deeper.

Zane was silent for a while, and Aubrey was sure five minutes had passed, when he said, "Is that how you feel?"

Aubrey kept her composure.

"No I just poured my heart and soul into that speech but it was a joke."

"Be serious for a moment."

Aubrey sighed and agreed.

"You know I care. I wouldn't be . . . jealous if I didn't. But I've been dying over here. With you not being here, I feel stressed and on edge. I just went off on you, even though I need you. You know how I am."

Aubrey didn't say anything.

"If you really feel like I'm being irrational, we'll go on a break."

Aubrey's heart climbed its way up her throat.

"What? When did I ever say that?"

"I want you to be happy," he continued. "If something really is going on between you two—"

"Nothing is!"

"—then I want you to know that you're not taken so it's okay."

Aubrey held back a scream.

"What the goddamn hell is wrong with you? You think breaking up with me is gonna fix this? I'm not doing _anything_ with Andy—Andrew. You're just going to do this, after one year, just end it?"

"Just until you come back. I want you to come back knowing you were faithful, because you're single. Just for a little while. I love you, I always have and I always will, and I know you love me too, through all of my stupidness and jealousy. Have fun, and even though it kills me inside, I know that you'll tell me everything you did when you get back. Win for me." And he hung up. Just like that.

Aubrey slammed the phone on the wall and slid on the ground, her back against the closet door.

 _What did she do?_

 **• • •**

Dinner was not quiet, with Kerri questioning the stylists about everything.

"That dress? Amazing! Wherever did you get the fabric?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and ate her chicken. She was slowly processing everything that had happened between her and Zane, and she was not okay with it at all.

After dinner, Aubrey hugged Josh.

"Goodnight," she whispered into his shirt. She wasn't sure how she was feeling. Today was her last day of guaranteed safety. The games started tomorrow.

"Night."

Neither of them let go.

"I'll probably join you tonight. I've got such bad nerves I bet I couldn't even draw a straight line."

Josh nodded. "Don't worry. You'll be fine."

Aubrey hated how he said _you'll_ and not _we'll._

"I—I know something is wrong. I can see it, I know you."

Aubrey opened her mouth to tell him, but he shook his head.

"Later. I know you need time to prcces it."

Aubrey finally pried herself away from him and went up to the roof.

Andy was up there, changed into a comfortable pair of sweats.

"Hey," she said, coming up next to him.

He looked at her.

"Hey."

Aubrey leaned against the edge of the railing, her hair blowing in the wind. She decided it wasn't enough, so she hopped over the railing and sat on it.

"Aubrey," Andy warned. "Careful. You might fall."

Aubrey snorted. "What's the worst that could happen? I die? I'm going to anyway, so this will just be a quicker death. I just had my heart ripped out, so what does it matter?"

He rolled his eyes, but let it go, knowing better than to try to convince her otherwise.

"Come on," she waved her hand at him. "Sit next to me."

He climbed up with no argument. She lied her head on his shoulder, thinking about what Zane had said.

"What do you mean? Who ripped your heart out?"

He sounded casual, with a little anger under his voice.

"What would you do if I told you I find a phone and managed to call my house, and my boyfriend picked up?"

"I would say that it sounds like something only you could do. I belive you." He swung his legs. "What happened?"

Aubrey sighed.

"Well, he got really jealous of you, and basically went on a rampage. I might've cursed him out and told him I wanted him to leave me alone. He took that as a signal to put us on a 'break' until I go back home, because he would feel better if I cheated while I was single."

Andy curled a piece of her hair around his finger.

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault he's an idiot."

"You guys have been together for a year right? That's pretty surreal. I'm sorry, I guess I'm too flirty."

"It's just who you are. You wouldn't be you if you didn't flirt all the time, if you weren't so affectionate. That's why I keep you around, after all."

"For my charming ways?"

"What else?"

Andy smiled a little, his gold eyes a bit sad.

She sighed. What was Zane doing now, what was her family doing?

Andy sighed too. "Thinking 'bout home?"

Aubrey nodded.

"Me too."

Aubrey decided she had to say something.

"They're sick bastards, taking us away from our homes. Maybe one day I'll get to take them away from who they care about and see how they like it."

He looked at her.

"Stop. They'll—"

"They'll what?" she interrupted. "Kill me? Like I said before, I'm sure to die anyway, so if I'm gonna die, I want to die knowing they know how I feel. Even if they can't understand how it feels. So if they don't like it, they can spin on it." Aubrey made a rude hand gesture.

Andy rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yeah. I agree. I mean, not exactly the way _you_ put it, but yeah. The only reason I would want to win would be to help my mom. She deserves it."

Aubrey sighed. "She really doesn't. She _hits_ you. She yells mean things at you. She don't appreciate what a great son she has. She doesn't deserve it, or you."

He sighed. "Whatever. I don't care if they don't deserve it. If I can help anyone in any way, I will."

Aubrey sighed again. "You're too good for these games," She said softly. "You have a good, kind, warm heart. We need more people like you in the world, and less people like me. Cold, too-gone-to-care-for hearts."

Andy lifted her chin up, forcing her to look him in his eyes.

"No. You think you're cold hearted, Aubrey, but I see the heart of gold you have." She snorted. "Your past has shaped you into what you think you are. You have a good heart too. You've just had too many hardships to break down the cold walls."

Aubrey frowned. "And you haven't? Just let me go. People like me, we don't want change. We want revenge. Revenge for everything they put us through. And we'll do anything get it. Just like Snow—"

His beautiful gold eyes darkened.

"Don't. Don't compare yourself to that creep. You are much better than he ever was, or will be. Always know that."

They sat there for awhile.

"Andy?" Aubrey said randomly.

"Yeah, Aubs?"

Aubrey smiled at the new nickname.

"Will you stick with me and Josh in the arena?"

"Of course. I won't leave you alone if I can help it."

"Okay. I'm nervous."

"So am I."

"I really don't want to go." all of Aubrey's worries and doubts spilled out of her. "I don't want to die. I don't want you or Josh to die for me. I couldn't live with myself. I want all of us to go home, and be safe. Why can't we just go home and be happy? Is that too much to ask? I just wanna see Zane, I just want to be home. Home."

Andy chuckled lightly and stroked her hair.

"It'll be alright. I won't leave you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," she said softly.

"No. This I do promise. Even if—even if I die, I'll always be with you. You'll remember me."

Aubrey blinked back tears and nodded.

They stayed like that for awhile.

"It's getting late. We should go."

Andy got off of the railing and helped Aubrey down.

Aubrey latched her arms around Andy. "I don't wanna go," she said.

Andy looked at her. "Me neither. But we need to get a good night's sleep."

Aubrey didn't let go. Andy sighed and hugged her back.

"Come on. I'll walk you."

They went on the elevator, and were silent until they reached Aubrey's floor. They walked to her door without seeing anyone.

Aubrey turned to Andy. "Thank you. For everything." She kissed his cheek. "I'll never forget you."

She gave him a quick wave and stepped into her room. She could hear him walking away.

Aubrey sighed and looked around her dark room. She shook her head and tip toed to Josh's room.

The light was off, and she could hear his even breathing. She sighed and slipped under his covers. He scared the shit out of her when he turned toward her and said, "I've been wondering when you'd come."

Aubrey held her chest.

"I just didn't want to leave."

Aubrey couldn't see him, but she thought he nodded.

"How long have you been up?" she asked.

"A couple minutes. Just thinking."

Aubrey nodded.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"There's a phone in Kerri's room, so I used it to call my house, and Zane picked up."

"Smart."

"Not from what happened. He got super jealous about Andy and I yelled at him, telling him to, well, hop off my metaphorical dick. Because I, you know, don't have one."

"I get it."

Aubrey fingered her hands.

"Just making sure. Anyway, he broke up with me, telling me we were going on a break until I came home so I could do whatever I wanted here and come back home faithful."

Josh exhaled weirdly.

"I—Wow. I can't believe—no, I can see him doing that. He always was a jealous buffon. I saw the looks he shot guys who looked at you, when he thought no one was looking. Wow, you must feel so guilty. Come here."

She rested her head on his chest and put her arm over him. His right arm wound around her waist, and Aubrey sighed again. Josh was very comfortable.

"It's not your fault. There's nothing going on with you and Andy, and we all know it. He shouldn't have been jumping on you like that, especially considering the circumstances. He has been very stressed, and I know he does love you very much. He's probably going mad right now, thinking he left you thinking he hated you. He's crazy, but also crazy for you. Don't let this get to you, when you get back home it'll be all fine and dandy."

Aubrey nodded and tried to keep her nerves down. They would be okay, they would all be okay.

They both drifted off the sleep, worrying about when they would wake up. They both wondered whether or not they would live to see their families again.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**The Living Games**

 **A/N Hi, hello! So I've been doing some major editing on this story. I am currently going through all of the chapter and making them better. I also changed the story description.**

 **Oh, and there's a minor cliffhanger at the end of this chapter for you guys :)**

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Arena**

Aubrey was having a nice dream about her and Zane sitting in a tree talking for hours. Arianna and Josh joined them, and they all laughed together. They stopped abruptly when there was a loud crack, and they looked down in fear to see the whole branch about to collapse. They looked around for the source and saw Josh, who was bouncing up and down on it **( A/N don't even think about it)**.

"Josh!" they all screamed.

He smirked and shrugged, grabbing onto the stump as they all were sent fumbling frantically to the forest floor.

Aubrey snapped awake right before they hit the ground.

She woke up gasping, hating that feeling of falling in a dream.

She looked around her room. It was dark, no one there.

How had she gotten back in her room? She had fallen asleep with Josh. He must've carried her back.

She sighed, and quietly composed herself. She didn't need to be thinking about that day, one of the best days the group of friends had had together. She didn't need to be reminded of the punches Josh received when he jumped down, or the loving smile Zane shot up at him. And she definitely didn't need to be reminded of the tearful group hug they had shared together afterwards—

Aubrey pinched herself hard. Why she did that, she didn't know. It didn't help in the slightest, only succeeding in giving her a painful feeling and a red mark.

She groaned and slammed her head back down on the pillow. Luckily, it was a pillow, so it didn't hurt. She drifted off again easily, being as tired as she was.

When she woke up again, it was to someone gently shaking her arm. She mumbled and snuggled deeper into her bed. She could vaguely hear talking, but she couldn't understand the words.

Just when she thought she'd maybe get to sleep in, she felt someone's hands on her back, and she was pushed off the bed onto the floor.

"What the—"

Aubrey flailed around for a bit before realizing that she wasn't alone. She looked up to the sight of Purria standing there, messing with her hands sheepishly.

"Sorry," she apologized, "but you wouldn't get up."

Aubrey nodded. She could understand that. Arianna had said that exact thing to her many times before. Who wants to get up when they're comfortable?

Aubrey got up wordlessly.

What was Purria doing here? Weren't the interviews yesterday? The Tribute Parade had already past, so why would she be—

The realization hit her like a bag of bricks. Today was the day.

The start of The Hunger Games.

The start of the true games. The charming portion was up. You got what sponsors you could get, now it's time for the real deal. Sponsors couldn't help you when you're getting run through with a sword.

Aubrey sighed and ran a hand through her tangled hair. She didn't bother questioning _why me?_ Or _what have I ever done to make this happen?_

She knew thinking about the level of unfairness in all of this would get her nowhere. What was she gonna do, jump out of the hovercraft moving at very high speeds and go find Snow? Like he wouldn't be surrounded by security and protected. It was pointless to question it.

She silently followed Purria outside, in her pajamas and all. She tried to see if she could find Josh, but she didn't see him anywhere.

There was a hovercraft waiting outside for her. If she hadn't seen them on Television, she might have been surprised by its vastness and slim, sleek look.

If only it wasn't taking her to her death.

She climbed up, only to be frozen in place halfway there. A woman came out of nowhere, holding a needle.

Aubrey gritted her teeth.

She freaking hated needles. They hurt, and they pricked her skin. She could always feel the piece of metal wherever it was in her body. She was lucky that needles were barely used in her district, usually just pills and syrups, with the occasional plant.

"Keep still."

Uh, right. As if she could move even if she wanted to.

She woman grabbed her arm quite forcefully, and shoved the tracker in. Aubrey flinched—well, tried to, but she still couldn't move. The woman threw her arm (quite rudely) away, and Aubrey climbed up the rest of the way.

"What a bitch."

"With that red top with those neon pink pants, who wouldn't be?" Purria chimed in helpfully. Once a stylist, always a stylist.

"Right."

Aubrey looked around, not having much else to do. The windows were tinted, and the hovercraft was pretty bare, only housing a few chairs and lights.

"Homey. I just want to snuggle up in a big blanket and dream about sheep."

"You too?"

Aubrey didn't know if she was kidding or not.

The rest of the ride there was quiet, considering the day.

They got off and were escorted to a room by a few guards, who then stood outside of the door. In case she tried to run.

Aubrey plopped into her chair and exhaled. The room was just a plain white room with a giant tube on one side, and a couple of other regular items.

Purria sat down across from her, not saying a word.

When the food arrived—a nice plate of lasagna and garlic bread, one of her favorites—they both dug in. Aubrey knew it would probably be her last, so she tried to enjoy it.

After the meal, while Aubrey was sipping on a cool glass of water, Purria pulled something out of her bag.

When Aubrey didn't look up, she nudged her.

"Look."

Aubrey looked up to see the locket Zane had given her.

She gasped. She had completely forgotten about it (don't tell Zane).

"Oh! Where'd you get this?"

She clasped it around her neck, closing her eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the feeling of the cool metal against her skin.

"Josh gave to me. He said it was your token, and that you'd probably forget about it."

He was right there.

"T—Thank you. This means a lot to me, you know.

Purria nodded, then looked thoughtful.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you get it from? Looks like pure gold to me."

Aubrey tensed. She wasn't a Victor's sister to Purria, so where fuck would someone as poor as her get a real gold necklace?

"It's a friend's. Apparently, it was a family heirloom, to be given to their one true love. My—My boyfriend gave it to me at the Reaping. He told me he loved me, and he wasn't about to let me go."

It wasn't a _complete_ lie. It just wasn't a family heirloom.

Purria looked close to tears. As a woman who looked like she hadn't cried in twenty years, this was probably very heartbreaking to hear.

"I—I'm sorry. That must have been hard for you."

Aubrey pursed her lips.

"It was. But you have to power through the bad and see the good," she held her necklace. "He taught me that."

Purria was downright crying now, sobs wracking her body.

Aubrey wasn't sure what to do. She got up and awkwardly patted her back, finding it weird that she was comforting Purria, when she was the one about to die.

"I-I'm sorry for all o-of the stupid t-things that I said. T-Things really could've b-been worse for me. T-Thank you for helping me realize that."

Purria wiped away her tears, and stood up, looking determined.

"Now, let's get you changed."

The outfit included dark brown combat pants, tucked into black, sturdy boots. The shirt was black, and went down to her mid-arm. The jacket was also dark brown, over a black belt. Aubrey put her hair into a stable ponytail, and took in a deep breath.

She sat at the table, gripping Purria's hand.

Waiting.

Waiting for that voice to come and tell her to get in the tube.

Waiting.

Aubrey used her free hand to tap her fingers against the table, liking the nice tapping sound it made.

 _Tap._

Waiting.

 _Tap._

Waiting.

"Will all Tributes please step onto the metal cylinders provided. I repeat—"

Aubrey took in a shaky breath and stopped listening. It would only hurt her nerves. She gave a glance at Purria, standing up and brushing off invisible dust.

She tensely walked over to the circle, pausing right in front of it.

"Aubrey."

Purria voice broke through her not so pleasant reverie.

"Yeah?"

Purria smirked, the broken look in her eyes contrasting it greatly.

"Give 'em hell. Hell like only you can give."

Aubrey gave a tiny half smile, gathering up all of her remaining courage.

"You know I could never resist the urge."

The tube closed around her as she stepped on it.

There was darkness for a couple of seconds, and then the cylinder rose out, exposing a giant circle clearing, surrounded by trees and grass so thick she couldn't see two feet into the woods. There seemed to be mysterious bubble rising from the left side of the arena, from what Aubrey guessed was a volcano.

Josh was nowhere in her sight, but Andy was four people down from her. They locked eyes for a second.

"Let the Forty-Second Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templesmith's voice rang throughout the arena.

Here we go.

 _59._

Aubrey looked around. There were weapons scattered around the cornucopia, and a few packs and goodies. She saw a pack of fresh gleaming knives, just waiting to be used.

Oh _yeah._

She looked around a bit, seeing a few other tributes grinning, looking scared, and generally like they wanted to be anywhere else but there.

 _20_

Aubrey was getting ready to run, when she saw something in the corner of her eye.

A girl dropped her token, which was a necklace with a heavy pendant on the end.

Aubrey prepared for the blast, but it never came.

It took her about two seconds to realize that if something that heavy didn't set the mines off, then that meant the mines weren't on, and even less to run off her plate, the others following. The girl was still marveled by the fact that she didn't blow up, so by the time she left her plate, the bombs were on and she went _boom!_

She ran as fast as she possibly could, eager to get there first before anyone could kill her. Those knives were hers, and a sword for Josh couldn't hurt.

She reached the Cornucopia right after the boy from two.

Fuck.

Aubrey ignored, but watched him, and grabbed the pack of knives that she had seen.

 _Yes!_

She heard a weird crunch sound behind her and whipped around.

The boy from four had hit some kid on the top of his head with a mace so hard that it cracked his skull and smashed his head into his neck. He crumpled to the floor.

The mace. Why was it always the mace?

Aubrey swallowed down her fear. Or tried to, it didn't really work.

"Well, that's one way to kill someone nice and fast."

The boy looked at her and smiled. He brought the mace swinging around, and almost brained her. She jumped out of the way just in time to not get decapitated.

In the corner of her eye she could see someone coming towards her, so she looked, but they were too far away to hurt her.

Aubrey turned her attention back to the boy from four. He had swung the mace around again when she wasn't looking—that sneaky bastard—, so she jumped out of the way too slow. The long spikes grazed her elbow.

She cursed and went head on with him.

He tried to hit her with the mace again, so when it came around she grabbed the chain and pulled it from his hand. She aimed to hit him in the stomach, but he was quick, and moved out of the way just in time.

Aubrey gave up on the mace and kicked him so hard in the stomach that he fell backwards, and his weight didn't help at all.

Aubrey totally forgot about that kid running towards her until he was right on top of her. Literally.

He tackled her and almost stabbed her with a long knife. She twisted her face to the side and tried to get from under him, but his grip was too strong.

"Fucking shit," she muttered.

He was about to plunge the knife in her gut, when a sword plunged into his gut first. He went slack and Aubrey stood up, ready to thank and then kill the person who freed her.

She stopped when she saw it was Josh.

"Hey. Took you long enough."

He rolled his eyes and pulled her along through the kids trying to kill each other with weapons.

On their way out, Aubrey managed to grab two backpacks. Well, she grabbed one, and a girl grabbed the other, but one kick from Aubrey and she let go.

They ran until the noises from the fight were distant.

It wasn't until they were long gone that she realized her mistake.

 **( A/N If you don't like a lot of cursing I'd advise you skip this next paragraph and go to Josh's part:)**

"Oh my gosh. Oh my motherfucking gosh. I screwed up so fucking bad, Josh. We gotta go back! Fucking shit! Goddamn mother of a fucking rat's ass, fucking fuck of a fuck. A cunt sucker's asshole!"

Josh looked at her, arching an eyebrow at that last curse.

She continued her cursing rant.

"What? What is it?"

"We left him! Andy! Andrew Renold Limerick The Second! We—left—him."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"Well, shit."

Josh let out his own string of curses, remembering the blonde haired friend of his.

"We gotta go back."

"We can't go back!" Aubrey yelled at him.

"But were you not just yelling about going back!?"

"I don't know! All I know is that we left him."

"I know that!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"Okay!"

"Josh!"

He calmed himself down.

"Okay, okay. We'll just meet up with him later."

"If he's not dead."

"Stop being so pessimistic. C'mon, believe!"

Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Let's just keep going. I don't want any Careers catching up to us."

They trudged on, trying not to think of Andy, and dodging the closely packed trees.

They entered a weird area. Things suddenly starting to get hot. Like, a dry wind blowing across. There were less trees, and the air was less humid. They approached a clearing, not knowing what would await them.

Aubrey looked up, taking in the scene in front of her, smiling sarcastically.

"Oh, this is just great."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**The Living games**

 **A/N Hello, my lovelies! The arena . . . here we come! I always see a forest in any arenas that I read about in a fanfiction. I think the Capitol would've managed to find different environments to put their tributes in. This arena is special, including three different biomes! Mwahaha! I think I might do a chapter in Zane's POV, or maybe Arianna's. I also made this President Snow chapter, but it takes place in the next story, or in that timeline. I think I might just post it as a preview, or a little hint at what will happen. And I really do think I'll do the sequel, because I love this story so much. I also realized that this story has passed 55,000+ words, and I'm not even two chapter into the arena. Barely there, actually. The first half of this story has just been some Aubrey background, some fluff, some school stuff, Arianna's games, and yah. Not much, really. I wonder how long it'll turn out to be with the arena . . . and oh yeah! The anniversary for this story was on May 30th, which was a long time ago, like five months ago, when I originally planned to post this chapter, oops. I'm sooo late and horrible, I thoroughly apologize, but don't forgive me _ I've been busy editing this story and trying to find the motivation to finally finish my other story. I hope I'll have this story finished by the end of this school year, and then boom! Here comes the sequel and finding the motivation to finish _that_. But whatever. Now, I better give you the chapter before I just make this whole thing an A/N. I totally could at the rate I'm going. No cliffhanger here, btw. But don't get used to that. You've had 17 chapters cliffhanger free, now it's time to make up for that. Yay, such fun! Don't you just absolutely love cliffhangers?**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Nothing Like the Heat of Desperation**

Aubrey's mouth was on the ground, which was not the springy dirt floor littered with plants that she had expected to find. Instead, there was hot sand.

She was no longer in a forest. She was in a desert.

"Okay . . . " she started out. "I know I'm not the best in science, but I'm pretty sure there are no deserts in the forest."

"No duh, they're two different biomes," Josh said, smirking like the little smart-ass he was.

"If I had asked you—"

"Okay, as much as I want to argue with you, and trust me, I do," Josh cut her off, "we really need to think of a plan."

Aubrey sighed, but agreed. She knew they needed a plan, too.

"What have you got in mind, Oh-Wise-One?"

Josh looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged.

"I think we should stay here. Chances are, the other tributes didn't go this far, thinking the whole arena was just a forest like we did. No one will find us here, and if they do, we can always hide behind those sand dunes over there," he pointed to a huge area filled with sand dunes. "So, yeah. I think we should stay here."

Aubrey nodded. All of his points were valid, and even though the forest would be the obviously more comfortable environment, the desert offered protection and isolation, both of which she greatly appreciated.

"Okay. The desert it is. Oh, and before I forget," Aubrey pulled off one of the backpacks, "we need to look through these."

Josh eyed them with distrust. "Well, they better hold something good."

With that, he turned around and stalked off towards the group of sand dunes he had pointed at earlier.

Aubrey huffed and followed after him.

About halfway there, cannons started going off. Aubrey stopped and counted eight.

The bloodbath was over, and eight people had died.

Aubrey kept walking, but a horrifying screech echoed through the desert.

Aubrey turned around, her eyes widening in horror at what lay before her.

A giant scorpion was just making its way through the edge of the forest, almost touching the desert sand. She wasn't talking about some three foot long bug, she meant an eight foot tall black scorpion, with pincers dripping poison. The shell look as hard as titanium, maybe harder.

Most likely.

This _was_ the Capitol.

Aubrey swallowed hard. Just her luck. Not even two hours into the arena and something non-human already wanted to kill them.

"Um, Josh?"

She turned to look at him. He had his mouth wide open.

"That . . . what's that?"

Aubrey opened her mouth to explain.

"I know what it is!" he exclaimed.

"Shush! It'll hear us!"

Aubrey looked back at it as soon as it broke through the trees.

She grabbed Josh's arm and ran toward the sand dunes, hoping to gain some coverage.

They dived behind a big dune just before the scorpion looked at their previous spot. It circled around once, then screeched again and ran off, back into the trees.

Aubrey breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. I was afraid we'd have to fight it," Josh wiped his brow.

Aubrey laughed nervously.

"We wouldn't last a second against that thing."

Josh looked like he wanted to argue, but he knew she was right.

"Whatever. Let's just set up camp, and see what's inside of these packs. I could use something good right now."

* * *

The packs were going to be useful.

 _If we don't lose them first,_ Aubrey thought.

The first pack held two bottles of water purifier, some ropes, a box of six matches, an empty gallon jug, two packs of dried fruit, two packs of jerky, two fresh apples, and a pack of four pills (though Aubrey had no idea what for).

"So, basically survival things," Josh noted.

"Yeah, looks like it."

The second pack held a pair of heavy snow boots (Aubrey was confused about that one), a heavy coat (that one too), a sleeping bag, thick gloves, a hat, another empty jug, and a large net.

"These are survival items too, but not the kind you eat."

Aubrey nodded.

On them, they also had Aubrey's pack of knives, and Josh's sword, and a loaf of bread he had picked up.

"Okay," Aubrey looked at the items they had. "I say we eat the bread and the apples tonight, because they'll spoil soon, and we still have the dried fruit, plus we—by we I mean you—can hunt. We can look for water tomorrow."

Josh agreed. It was still daytime, and they'd only been in the arena for about two and a half hours.

Josh stared at the sand dune.

"The desert gets cold at night, since it can't hold heat very well, so we'll definitely need that sleeping bag tonight. Maybe that's what the coat and stuff is for," Josh said, but he sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than her.

"Maybe."

Even as she said this, she still didn't believe it. Why give them a sleeping bag _and_ a coat? And they were they supposed to wear boots while they were sleeping?

Aubrey shook the thought out of her head as Josh started explaining something.

"—should be enough. We can sleep there, and the scorpion won't be able to see us."

Aubrey nodded like she actually understood whatever he was saying.

Josh's idea turned out to be a good one.

He walked around, looking for a big enough dune. He finally found one after a few minutes of walking.

He felt the dune. "Yeah, this should be cold inside. We just need to make a hole, preferably near the bottom so it'll support our weight more."

They got to work.

Aubrey spent the next three hours patting down the dune, digging, and getting sand thrown into her hair.

"Sorry," Josh would say, but then she'd catch his smirk and punch him.

They finally got a stable looking cylinder shaped hole going on. In one of the downward ridges in the sand dune, they dug a bit deeper. Deep enough to hide them, but not too deep as in the sand would fall on them. It had taken them a long time because the sand kept threatening to fall on them.

Aubrey huffed, blowing her hair out of her face. She was satisfied with her work.

Aubrey and Josh set up their sleeping bag, and hid the rest of their stuff in a nearby hole.

Aubrey wasn't sure what to do now that she was done, so she just sat on the sleeping bag. Josh joined her soon after. It was about late afternoon.

"So," Aubrey started. "What do we do now?"

Josh thought about it for a moment.

"Try not to die," he said softly.

Aubrey snorted just as softly. "Duh. I mean what do we _do_? I don't know about you, and I never thought I'd ever say this in the arena, but I'm—"

Josh slapped a hand over her mouth, looking scared.

"What?!" Aubrey exclaimed, pulling his hand away.

"Don't say it!"

"Say what?"

"The b word! Bored! Do you _want_ another scorpion?! Because we'll sure as hell get one if you say what you were going to."

Aubrey nodded, seeing where he was coming from.

"Oh . . . okay. Well . . . wanna talk?"

Josh laughed. "T—that just sounded so weird. I never though I'd be having this conversation in the games. I thought it was all blood and death, and I'd be running for my life every five seconds."

"Well, you were wrong. The games actually do have some good in them."

Aubrey held her straight face for all of three seconds.

"Y—yeah right! Good in them my butt!" Aubrey almost choked on her laughter.

"Anyway," Josh continued once he calmed himself somewhat, "I guess we just talk."

"How's life?"

"Pretty sucky."

"Same."

"Yeah."

They both laughed again.

"Gosh, this feels so weird."

"Maybe it's just the stress getting to us. Or reality hasn't set in yet."

"Let's go with the second one."

"We'd better cherish this before reality _does_ come."

"Agreed. Here's to living out of reality." Aubrey raised a fake glass.

"Here's to."

They sighed and became silent. The silence prompted Aubrey to think of home. Of Zane.

God _dammit_.

Thinking of Zane brought on so many emotions that she wasn't prepared to deal with. She missed him more than words could ever explain. She'd never been in love before. She had loved, but had not _been_ in love.

 _Until I met Zane,_ she thought bitterly.

She desperately wanted to think of home. Of Arianna, of Cady. But she couldn't because then she'd start blubbering, and she _really_ didn't want that.

She silently grabbed Josh's hand, and he squeezed her's. They both needed each other's comfort.

A few more minutes passed in silence, until Aubrey felt her self drifting off. She lied down, and her last thought was of what would happen in these next few days.

* * *

Aubrey woke up to Josh shaking her awake.

"Time for dinner," he smiled, and held up the bread.

They ate mostly in silence, gobbling up the apples and the bread.

Just as Aubrey was finishing off the bread, the sky lit up.

The tributes flashed onto the screen, and Aubrey looked at them. This was the last recognition they would ever get, and it somewhat saddened her.

The boy from District Three, the girl from District Five, the boy from District Six, both from District Seven, the girl from District Eight, the girl from District Nine, and the girl from District Eleven.

Districts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, and, of course, Twelve were still in.

Aubrey sighed. Eight dead, fifteen more to go. She wished none of them had to die, but there was nothing she could do about that.

She stared up at the sky.

Maybe someday, things would change. Maybe someday, they wouldn't have to die for someone else's fun.

 _Someday. Someday long in the future_ , she thought.

Aubrey volunteered for first watch, seeing as she had already slept earlier, and she didn't think she could fall asleep anyway.

Josh soon fell asleep, and the soft sound of him breathing was enough to relax her.

As she stared into the distance, she started to wonder. She wondered what was going on back home, and how everyone was feeling.

Were they glad that she didn't die on the first day? Were they proud? Were they doubting her, thinking it was a miracle that kept her alive? How was her family doing? Was Arianna okay?

Aubrey sighed and pushed those thoughts out of her head. She needed to be keeping watch, not daydreaming.

Not much happened. The scorpion came back, but it just ran off in another direction. A rat looking thing came out of the ground, but it scurried back in just as quick as it had come out. Some sand shifted here and there, and a cold breeze ran through.

Aubrey didn't want to, but she woke Josh up for his turn. She lied down in the sleeping bag, falling asleep almost instantly.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hellooo! It's been so long since I've written a chapter instead of just editing one. My fingers are confused with what to do with the keyboard. A or S? Fingers? Don't you mean fomgwrs? Even auto correct is confused. Chapter or capture? Glad to be back! There is currently a hurricane approaching where I live, Hurricane Matthew, and I want to write this before the power goes out, as it most likely will. The downside to living on the East Coast, the ocean tries to kill you all the time. I guess this is what we get for living by Charleston, though we're not right next to the Harbor. I guess I should mention that I live in South Carolina before going into that lol. Hopefully it'll pass us right by, and Haiti and Jamaica and Florida will be okay. It's not really supposed to hit here until Friday (tomorrow), but everyone is already evacuating to Atlanta, Georgia, including most of my friends and family, but we're staying here. If I don't post . . . then, well, guess I died. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter Twenty: The Real Games Begin**

Aubrey didn't really think her day could get any worse. After coyotes and lots of running and giant bugs, what could possibly happen? Then the beetles came, their pincers snapping tightly and their leg's rattling.

How did legs rattle?

 _She didn't know._

And she would've never found out if it hadn't been for Josh and his great idea to explore the desert.

 _Who explores the desert?!_ They should've just stayed in their dune.

The day started off as normal as possible. Or, as normal as you could get in the Hunger Games.

Aubrey woke up to Josh shaking her shoulder and telling her to eat breakfast so they could explore.

 _Explore?_ she had thought. _What could there be to explore?_

But like an idiot, she gulped down her dried fruit and agreed.

They hid all of their supplies in their dune, except one backpack filled with an empty bottle, rope, jerky, some matches and the weird pills. Along, of course, with Aubrey's knives and Josh's sword.

They set off in the desert, going in a random direction.

After a couple of minutes had passed by, they noticed a random cluster of trees in a dune-less area.

"Hmm. It could hold some supplies or weapons or something." Josh walked towards it, a perplexed look on his face.

"Or it could be a trap to kill us."

"Let's see."

Aubrey sighed and followed after him, already regretting her decision.

A cannon sounded, and if that wasn't a sign not to go in, she didn't know what was.

The trees seemed to open up for them, their branches guiding them along, and their trunks whispering certain death.

 _Right this way!_ they seemed to say.

Aubrey shivered and sped up next to Josh.

"This is really creepy we should leave, like _now_."

Josh continued forward, like he was too caught up in the wonder to hear her.

They trudged along the muddy forest (a muddy forest in the middle of a sandy desert?) floor, peering cautiously at the birds on the tree branches.

After a few minutes, Josh seemed disappointed and suggested that they leave.

"I guess there really wasn't anything useful here at all."

Aubrey sighed happily and turned to leave, a small smile on her face.

The smile slid right off her face when she saw what was behind her.

A pack of dogs (coyotes?) were snarling in their direction, leaning on their front legs as if they were about to run.

"When I say three, climb the nearest tree," Josh whispered in her ear.

She wanted to point out that it was indeed a trap, the creepy forest, but it didn't really seem like the time.

"One . . ."

The coyotes started forward slowly, an almost grin-like expression on their glaring faces.

They seemed to be toying with the two of them.

"Two . . ."

The coyotes broke into a run, and Josh shouted an unnecessary "Three!"

Aubrey grabbed a branch so hard that it almost snapped. She climbed the tree as quickly as she could, thankful of the days spent in the woods being taught tree climbing by Zane.

Zane . . .

 _This is no time to be thinking about Zane!_

She saw Josh offer his hand up to her, and he pulled her up next to him.

"You good?"

She nodded, then turned to him and said, "I fucking told you this was a trap."

He rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"People make mistakes?" She glared daggers at him. "Okay, I promise I won't go walking into anymore _obvious_ traps."

She supposed it was good enough.

After awhile, the dogs got bored of them and moved on to hunt some other tributes.

They climbed down the tree, dusted themselves off (trees are awfully dusty), and continued on their so called "journey".

They didn't even make it two steps away when a loud buzzing started. It sounded like a pack of a thousand bees was flying towards them.

"Josh . . ."

She never got the chance to tell him how stupid he was before a dozen giant flies flew towards them.

Giant, like _giant._ They were at least five feet wide, their wings so thin it was a wonder they could fly at all.

Aubrey wasn't really worried, because, while they were giant, they were _flies_. They didn't seem to have mouths, just giant compact eyes that bulged out in a sickly way.

Then she found out that they _did_ have mouths when long tubes shot out towards them, threatening to suck them up.

Aubrey sighed and ran with Josh towards the edge of the forest, and the bugs were pleasingly slow.

Aubrey almost got her left leg sucked up when a fly crashed into a tree and spun towards the ground, sucking at their legs.

When the flies started gaining on them, Josh started throwing rocks and sticks at them while they were running, slowing them a bit.

They crashed through the treeline, panting and glancing back.

The flies seemed the linger a bit before turning around and flying back.

Aubrey turned to look at Josh, an incredulous look already forming on his face.

"Okay, I was _not_ expecting that. I was just going to leave and they were there. Sorry."

But Aubrey couldn't be mad at him when she was so relieved, so she just slapped him and walked away as another cannon sounded, far away from the creepy forest.

 **• • •**

Their walk was generally calm and peaceful, which put Aubrey on edge. What kind of arena was uneventful? She _did_ just get attacked twice, but she just expected to get attacked again, and it was nerve wracking.

Josh seemed to be doing just fine, humming to himself, a little bounce in his step.

Aubrey glared at him.

How could he be _happy_? She had been on edge all day, all week! Maybe he was just better at hiding it.

But no. He was genuinely happy, walking along like they couldn't be killed at any moment that it seemed convenient.

Aubrey shook her head and stalked along the desert, looking for more obvious traps, like random oceans or maybe even a frozen tundra. Wouldn't that be a nice additional topping to their ice cream sundae of sucky-ness?

She got what she asked for.

They stumbled upon a giant nest, kind of like a bird's nest, round and made of twigs and leaves.

Aubrey sucked in a bunch of air and turned around and screamed "Ha! HA! I found it! Is this your idea of a joke? Well, since you asked for it, we're going in!"

Josh gave her a look.

"Um, are you okay?"

"Onward!"

Josh's eyes got all big, which reminded her creepily of the flies.

"On—?"

Aubrey grabbed Josh's hand and left no room for arguments.

After a few feet in, Aubrey regretted her not-entirely-sane decision.

Beetles. Beetles everywhere.

And that's the story of how she ended up in that situation, goodnight folks!

The beetles didn't seem bothered by the aggressive swinging Josh was doing with the backpack, or Aubrey's glinting knives.

They continued to scuttle forward on their rattling legs.

Aubrey threw one of her knives (meant for piercing!) at it's shell, and the knife literally bounced off and hit the floor with a pitiful clatter.

Well, there goes her piercing knife.

"You wanna get that sword out? I mean, you look totally terrifying with that backpack and all, but now's not the time."

Josh shook his head.

"I studied these beetles in training! Their pincers are deadly sharp and painful, so don't let them bite you—"

"Wasn't planning on it, thanks."

"—and their shells are impossible to penetrate."

"Well, shit."

"Our only chance is it run. They don't do so well on the sand, that's why they gathered sticks and leaves."

"They could just go into the forest—?"

"I never said they were smart," he snapped.

She huffed.

"Whatever! What do we do?"

"Just run. They won't be able to keep up!"

So they turned and ran. Along the way, Josh took the time to shout at her, "Now who's running straight into obvious traps!?"

"Shut up! I wasn't sane at that moment!"

The beetles stopped chasing them after a couple of feet. They really _weren't_ good on sand, much to Aubrey's amusement.

They stopped running, and Aubrey put her knives away, grumbling about her lost knife.

"It was _one_ knife, and you have enough to last you."

"It was my piercing knife! One and only."

"Whatever. Come on, let's go back; we've done enough exploring for today, I think."

"'Enough' is an understatement."

They walked back towards their dune, wherever that was. They didn't know anymore.

Aubrey was innocently walking when she tripped over something on the ground. She looked down and jumped.

It was a girl.

A _little_ girl.

She was sobbing on the desert floor, like crying buckets of tears.

"No! No! Please, don't kill me! I have—I have something you might need! Water, take it!"

Aubrey's mouth was wide open. She didn't know what to do.

"P—please! I just want to live another day longer with my brother before he dies from the scorpion bite!"

She started sobbing beyond speaking terms.

Aubrey exchanged a look with Josh, and knelt down.

The girl flinched away.

"Shh, I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl wiped some of her tears away.

"I promise. What's your name?"

"L—Leila. Leila Adams."

"You're the girl from District Ten, then?"

Leila nodded.

"My d—district partner has been hunting me since the beginning. He wants to be the one to kill me, he says. Some f—family feud."

Aubrey nodded. "Who's your brother, then?"

Leila sniffled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small bird, very much alive.

"How—?"

"They thought it was a toy bird, so they let me bring it. Of course, I've broken the rules, but I'll die anyway, so i—it doesn't matter. He was bitten by the scorpion, and he doesn't have much time. There's a cure, in the form of pills but—"

Leila was wracked with pounding coughs, blood staining her hand when she pulled it away.

"Are you okay?!"

Leila coughed. "I—I had a lung disease before I came. I hid it well. I didn't want them to cure me before the games. If I was going to die, I wanted it to be because of something human, not because of something inhuman."

Aubrey took the backpack from josh and started to search though it.

"I've got something in here for you, I'm sure of it, some pills, I think—"

"Pills?" Leila sat up and coughed again, more blood coming out. "Let me see them."

Aubrey pulled them out, showing the three blue pills.

Leila started crying.

"What?! What is it?"

"I—Nothing. Just, please. Please keep those pills! Never let them go! If the scorpion comes back, those will save your life, because they're made for pois—"

Leila's small frame wracked with the force of her coughs. She started to look dazed, her dark skin paling.

"What? They're made for what?"

Leila just coughed.

"Come with us, please! We can help you, we'll find some herb or something—"

Josh finally spoke up.

"No."

Aubrey looked up at him, horrified.

"What do you mean 'no'?! She clearly needs medical help—"

"'No', as in what she has is incurable. Nothing in Panem could help her. She has an extreme case of Asbestosis. She is probably living her last minutes as we speak."

Aubrey fought down tears. If she was crying over the death of this random girl, how would she fare with Josh?

"He's right. I—I know I'm dying. I knew it back in the dusty fields of Ten, and I know it now. The—the Careers made it way worse. They kicked dirt and dust in my face, knowing what I had, worsening my condition. I would've survived at least another three months without them. Maybe I should thank them. Maybe it was meant to happen for a reason.

"At least I can't be hunted anymore. Now I feel bad for all the animals we grew and killed back in Ten. A whole district for it, and most of us were vegetarians. My own mother was so sick from it that she had to be sent to the Capitol for a "secret mission", and she never came back again."

Aubrey gasped. Isn't that what Zane had told her about his father?

She had asked him what happened to his family. And what had he said?

 _"I'm not sure. Something during the dark days. But . . . my father was lost to the Capitol. He was called for some 'secret mission', and we never saw him again. And I don't want to risk it with you."_

She _had_ to get that back to Zane. It could solve the mystery.

And . . . the Careers. They did this. They poisoned this girl with her own weakness, and on purpose. They would pay.

"I'll stay, then. Until you . . . die. No one should be alone when they die. Whether people are celebrating because you're a horrible person, or crying because you were great."

Leila nodded, a trail of blood going down the side of her face, her hazel eyes losing focus.

"But . . . please, don't forget the pills. I often have important urges, and they usually turn out to be very vital. You will forget about the pills, and that shall be your downfall. You will never forgive yourself until the day you die. But things can change, please don't forget the pills."

Aubrey had forgotten about the pills in her hand, which she put back.

"O—Okay. I promise I won't forget. I promise you'll be okay. You'll be going to a better place."

"A better place?"

"A place where the Hunger Games don't exist, and there aren't any districts, there isn't much of anything. You'll be happy there."

"A better place . . ."

"Home. You're home."

Leila's eyes glazed over, staring up into nothing.

A cannon went off.

Aubrey wiped a tear from her face and pressed a kiss to Leila's forehead.

In the end, Leila had died on her own terms, not the Capitol's. And that was more than Aubrey could've hoped for.

Aubrey thought of the games, thought of the Careers, thought of Leila.

She looked up at the sky, where Leila was looking, just looked up, and stared deeply into the sky, mouthing nine words into the red horizon.

 _I'm coming for you, both of you._

 _I promise._


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Helloooo! I survived the hurricane and I am okay. Our pear tree fell down with a heck of a lot of branches, but we're good. My grandma's house got flooded, and we pulled up her floor and helped her clean up, it was nice to do something good for once, instead of wallowing in darkness *dark poems*. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Also, today has been a really supportive day! Anyyyyyway, this chapter kind of starts the whole drama and action of the arena. Stayyyyyy tuned!**

 **And to** ** _Splashshine_** **, I actually live in South Carolina! Thanks for asking, though:)**

 **Chapter Twenty One: Feel the Rain on Your Skin (No one else can feel it for ya:)**

Aubrey looked into the night sky, staring at the pictures of the boy from District Five, and the boy from District Six as their faces flashed during the anthem. They had both gotten pretty low scores, as the anthem showed her. When Leila's face flashed in the sky, Aubrey had to look away, the memories of the day still too fresh in her mind.

"She was nice. I would have loved to take her with us and make her happy with the little time she had. The little time we all have."

Aubrey looked at Josh, a little startled.

"Funny how you say that, when you were so willing to let her die earlier."

Josh flinched and Aubrey immediately sagged, regretting her words.

"Listen," Josh said. "I know you've had a long day, after everything we've done a . . . and all of the traps and stuff, so I'll just let you cool down for a night and talk to you in the morning."

Aubrey opened her mouth to say something, she wasn't sure what, but Josh had already turned around and started to keep watch. She knew once he stopped talking, he wouldn't start again.

Aubrey sighed and chided herself as she slipped into the sleeping bag, grateful for the warmth, but not thinking she deserved it.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

As the seconds passed, the day began to catch up with her and she found herself drifting off to sleep.

Even sleep couldn't stop her from hearing Josh's words, "I wish I could've saved her too."

 **• • •**

Aubrey woke up the the early morning light, and sat up and yawned. She had taken watch for a bit last night, but there wasn't much to keep watch _for_ , unless dirt and sand counted.

Aubrey approached Josh warily after last night, but he looked at her and smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Here, take some of this," Josh handed her the last of the dried fruit. "By the time we need to eat a serious meal again, I'll have already hunted."

"Hunted what? There's about nothing around here."

He smiled a little, a michevious light shining in his usually unimpressed eyes. "Exactly."

When Aubrey showed no signs of understanding that (she was not a mind reader, as much and Zane had argued otherwise), he shook his head.

"We're going back into the forest."

"Ah, the forest of death and pain. Wonderful. Any other suggestions? What should we do next? Throw ourselves into the volcano on the other side of the arena? You know, I've often heard that death by lava is certainly the way to go."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Going into the forest is our best chance of survival. If we stay in this desert, we'll most likely die from dehydration and lack of food, if the animals don't kill us first. In the woods we have the advantage. We are most familiar with the woods, and there we can hunt and gather. It wouldn't hurt to take out some of the other tributes. I say this all with a very strategic point of view. The woods are our best bet."

Aubrey sighed, really wishing she could argue with him, but everything he had said was valid _and_ right. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. But if it comes down to it, I'm still saying we camp in the volcano."

Josh shook his head, but smiled. "Well, let's pack up. I want to leave this desert as fast as possible."

Aubrey didn't argue.

"What was that? Did you hear that?"

Aubrey stuffed the sleeping bag back into the covering and put it into its respective pack.

"Hear what?"

"Hear you. Not complaining, or arguing. Must be a miracle."

Aubrey smirked. "Like miracle growth?"

Josh muttered a few words about where she could put her miracle growth.

"If I have to sit through one more science class hearing about some absolutely impossible, impractical, unimaginable "miracle growth", I'm going to rip all of my hair out and jump into the volcano."

Aubrey knew he hated miracle growth, which was a substance in their science homework that would make plants grow faster and thicker. He always talked about how it wasn't possible, and how "absolutely, positively inferior" the schooling system was.

"And you said it was a bad idea?"

"I never said that it was a bad idea. I just chose not to speak on it."

"So you think it's reasonable? Because I need your full approval before I do anything stupid. And I don't want my precious hair to burn off before the rest of me does. That makes for a horrifying death, as Kerri put it. And the lava color has to go with my outfit. I suppose red and green go together. But will it still look good with the camouflage print? Maybe, though the boots might be the thing to tie it all together—"

" _Aubrey_!"

"Yes, dear?" Aubrey responded calmly.

"Pack more, speak less."

Aubrey huffed, but agreed.

In a few minutes, all of their stuff was packed, and they were on their way onto the forbidden forest.

 **• • •**

As they ventured farther and farther into the woods, Aubrey could see the light going back into Zane's eyes. He brightened up and walked a little faster, and there a barely visible bounce in his step.

Aubrey smiled at him.

They walked for about half an hour before coming into a clearing that had a single tree in it, and the tree was tall and thick, and it would be thick enough to hide them if they were to sleep in it.

"Hm, I'd like to come back to this place later," Josh said, peering around one of the branches.

"You think it's a trap?" Aubrey asked, just to be cautious.

He shrugged. "Could be, could not be. But we haven't found another place, and there's no way we're sleeping in the open. If we find another place, we can forget about this. But until then . . ."

Aubrey shrugged. "Alright. But how do you recommend we find our way back again?"

"Leave a trail of breadcrumbs?"

"That didn't work for Ansel and Gretta, and it won't work for us."

"It's Hansel and Gretel, actually."

"I don't care."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"We could just walk in a straight line," she suggested.

"Might be hard for you. You can't do anything straight."

"I mean, you're not wrong, but still shut up. Let's just go, and if it was meant to be then we'll find our way back."

"That logic is the kind of logic without logic, which I guess I can accept."

Aubrey nodded her head, barely understanding that sentence.

"Alright."

They walked for a couple more minutes, and then a couple more hours, before they started to realize they had been walking in a complete circle.

They ended up back at the tree in the clearing.

"I guess it _is_ destiny," Aubrey said at the same time Josh said, "I knew it was your fault. You're so gay that you lead us in a curved line."

"This sounds like beginning of a bad joke. 'A bisexual and an asexual walk into a suspicious clearing'." **( A/N Ayeee, Magnus Chase reference, changed a bit:)**

"I believe it's supposed to be "A rabbi, a priest, and a Lutheran minister walk into a bar"."

"There are a million different versions, all of them cheesy and stupid."

"Stupid to those who don't find the humor in them."

"Whatever. We gonna set up camp or what?"

They set down their supplies near the tree and took a look around.

The tree spanned wider than they thought, and had a lot of leaves and branches that covered the sky if you stood below it. It stretched for a few feet.

"This would be a great place to stay dry in the rain. It could probably stop a flood, too."

As if on cue, it started to rain. Like pouring buckets and buckets of rain.

Aubrey turned to Josh to say something sarcastic, but she remembered their bags that were in the rain.

She noticed a weird, almost . . . acidic smell in the air, but she ignored it and ran towards their packs, Josh following her.

As soon as the rain hit her skin, she felt the most painful thing she had ever experienced in her life. It was like bathing in liquid fire, hot oil spreading up and down her veins.

She screamed and choked on the acidic rain, spitting it out on the ground and turning to josh, who was turning red from the acid and running towards her.

Aubrey fell on her knees and crawled towards the bags, looping one round her arm and crawling back towards the shade of the trees.

Josh had done the same, and by the time they both reached the tree they were red and shaking.

Aubrey couldn't stop twitching from random places in her body, and Josh looked like he was having a hard time moving his limbs.

"I . . . I was not expecting _that_! What the everloving _fuck_ was that?! Acid rain?" Aubrey screamed, getting even redder from her anger.

Josh gasped a little and spoke like it hurt.

"Very toxic acid rain. Can be fatal if received in excessive amounts and not treated. See a doctor for more reference."

"What the fuck is wrong with you? You sound like a medicine infomercial!"

"That's what the station said at training. We need to get the healing cream, or else our joints will stiffen to rock, and we'll have heart attacks from twitches. I'm the former, and you're the latter, I'm guessing."

Aubrey sighed, and immediately regretted it when her lungs rattled like she was having a coughing fit.

"Well um, Kerri, this would be a great time to send something."

Nothing happened.

Aubrey shifted towards Josh and hugged herself to stop the twitches.

"So do we sleep here? I don't think anyone would bother us through all this rain, and if we go up the tree, we might not be able to come back down."

Josh nodded, and Aubrey heard his neck crack like he hadn't moved it in seventy years.

"In the morning, I might not be able to move, but we'll definitely be alive. If we get sent cream, You might have to rub it on me."

"'A bisexual rubs down an asexual in a rainy clearing . . .'"

"Aubrey, shut up and go to sleep. We're both very tired, and there's no need to keep watch."

Aubrey gathered up on some leaves that had fallen to sleep on, not wanting to damage the sleeping bag.

She made sure Josh was okay and comfortable before falling asleep.

 **• • •**

Aubrey woke up to the sound of the anthem playing, showing that no one had died that day.

She looked at Josh, and saw him fast asleep. The rain had gone down, and was a light drizzle.

Aubrey stretched her limbs a bit, feeling her twitches coming back.

She looked beside her and saw a jar. A weird jar made of metal with a note written in black ink on the top.

She picked up the jar and read the top.

 _For all of your twitching and stony needs! Just rub a little bit on your hands and smear it wherever the acid is bothering you. You guys have worked up quite a bit of sponsors, but this jar cost a lot. Be more careful! -Kerri Clark_

Aubrey smiled a bit, shaking her head at her mentor.

She unscrewed the jar and stuck her finger in it, feeling the cool, thick substance. It smelled like peppermint, and it was a light green color.

She rubbed it on her hands a bit, and touched it to her arms, which got the most damage.

Instantly, the pain and twitching stopped where she rubbed it.

She laughed a little and rubbed it everywhere the rain had touched, until she was no longer twitching and burning. Her jacket was pretty much ruined in the rain, so she rolled it up and set it next to the tree.

The night air was cool, but still way warmer than the desert at night.

Aubrey crawled over to Josh and started rubbing the cream on his joints. He didn't seem to have noticed what she was doing until she was almost done, and he almost slapped her in the face with his stray arm.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! My arm is just really numb, and I can't really control it."

She snorted lightheartedly. "You're just making excuses to hit me."

"Maybe. Is that the cream?"

She nodded.

"Spread a little on my back, but I think that's the last place."

She lifted up his shirt and rubbed it on his back, storing the jar in one of their packs.

"You missed the anthem, but nobody died."

He nodded and went back to sleep.

Aubrey followed and lied down on her leaf bed, and drifted off to sleep feeling a lot more comfortable.


	22. Chapter Tweny Two

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hello! I really need to stop dancing and start writing. It's becoming a habit to dance for half an hour and then start writing. Oops. Well anyway, I'm back again! Halloween has past and now I'm preparing for Christmas. I know Thanksgiving is next, but we don't really do much for it. What are you doing for your Winter Break? I'd like to hear about different cultures on holidays, so let me know if you'd like! I don't have an uploading schedule and it's actually fun. Hope you enjoy this chapter, since things are really starting to happen. Aubrey and Josh are getting a little too happy. I'd better do something about that soon. Also, this chapter includes a little violence, so be warned! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Twenty Two: Friend or Foe?**

Aubrey was very thankful to wake up to clear skies and sunlight, a much needed sight after the previous night.

She rolled her shoulders and stood up, stretching and yawning. She looked over at Josh and smiled at him. He was doing jumping jacks in the most energetic way possible.

". . . 44, 45, 46 . . ."

Aubrey walked from under the shade of the tree and realized for the first time how thirsty she was. It was basically the fourth day, and she was very glad she had downed those two glasses before going into the arena. But she knew if they didn't find water soon, they might as well be over already.

Josh stopped at 50 and jogged over to her, a smile plastered on his face.

"Morning, sleepy head!"

"What's got you so happy?"

"Morning exercise. It can never hurt."

She rolled her eyes. "It hurts everything. And how long have you been awake?"

He scratched his neck.

"Uh, a couple of hours? I don't know. I've just been doing some stretches and I feel great!"

"Yeah, yeah. Today is the day, deer boy."

"Deer boy?"

"Yes. You hunt, do you not?"

"Well, yeah. But we don't see deer very often, unless we go deep—"

"What-ev-er. We're going hunting today, unless you're down to die from dehydration and starvation."

"Dehydration and starvation. Has a nice rhyme to it."

"So will your headstone engraving if you don't get on with it."

With a little more hustling, Josh and Aubrey were packed up and ready to hunt.

"I'll look for water, you look for food," Aubrey directed.

"Aye aye, Captain."

"We'll meet back here in about three hours."

"How are we supposed to tell—"

"Just come back when you're done. If you're in trouble, well, you've got a sword and you know how to use it. Good luck."

Josh nodded and lingered around for a bit.

"Josh . . . ?"

Aubrey trailed off when Josh hugged her tightly.

"Please be careful. I know you always are, but I just have a feeling . . ."

He shook his head.

"And with all the other tributes in these woods, I just want to know you'll be safe. Promise me."

"I promise."

"Now stick to it."

Josh let her go and walked away with a nervous smile.

Needless to say, Aubrey was very unnerved while hunting for water.

Usually when Josh got weird feelings about something, they proved to be true. Aubrey just hoped this wasn't the case this time.

After about twenty minutes of walking round and looking for signs of water, Aubrey found approximately two drops of what might've been pee. Whether or not it belonged to an animal or a human she couldn't tell, and she didn't want to know.

Aubrey thought she saw a few muddy foot prints going in one direction, and when she followed after them, she found a rotting rabbit.

She shook her head and went another way.

She started to notice different types of flowers growing on the ground, and she knew she was going the right way.

Aubrey ran excitedly towards the flowers, following along as the air grew clearer and the ground grew softer.

Aubrey just about jumped for joy when the sight of a river entered her view. It was about as wide as her body, and it was water. _Water_!

Aubrey took the two jugs out and filled them up with water. She almost forgot to put the water purifier in it, but she did, and she could feel her mouth becoming thirsty for the water.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Aubrey oddly felt like she was being watched.

She took out two of her knives (both made for slicing through human skin!) and crouched on the ground, peering into the treeline.

She was just about to turn around and call herself crazy when a dark shaped hurtled out of the woods and towards her.

Aubrey slashed out with one hand and rolled out of the way.

She knew her knife had hit something, even though the cut was most likely shallow.

A girl was kneeling where Aubrey was, an ax imbedded where her head would've been.

The girl turned towards Aubrey, her curly red hair caked with mud and a ferocious look in her eyes.

Aubrey briefly recognized her as the girl from District Six (Kelly or something). She looked a lot more deadly now than she had during training.

The girl got up and hissed at her, "Give me the water or die, Twelve."

As scared as she was, Aubrey gulped and mustered up a stupid comeback.

"There's a river right in front of you. Are you picky?"

Kelly screamed and swung the ax towards Aubrey, clearly more experienced than she had seemed to be.

Aubrey rolled to the side and got up standing, her two long knives poised and ready to strike.

Who knew District Six could swing an ax?

Aubrey slashed towards Kelly, hoping to deepen the earlier cut, but Kelly spun away and laughed.

Kelly swung at Aubrey and the two went at it, swinging and dodging and ducking.

Kelly put a lot of force into her swings, but she wasn't very fast and she didn't think about where she was swinging, clearly showing that she hadn't been using an ax for long.

Aubrey managed to land a deep stab on Kelly's right shoulder, but she just switched hands and kept swinging.

After a few minutes, Kelly seemed to get frustrated. She dropped her ax and grabbed Aubrey by her neck and slammed her against a tree with both hands.

"Give me the water!"

Aubrey screamed and squirmed under her hand, but she was a lot stronger than she looked.

"No!"

Aubrey kicked at her stomach and fell to the ground when Kelly let go.

She was done playing games now, and she knew even though Kelly seemed strong, she was well trained.

Aubrey grabbed the ax off of the ground and threw it at Kelly's hunched figure.

It sliced her arm, spilling a lot of blood and falling to the ground.

Kelly screamed and turned towards Aubrey, but Aubrey had already grabbed Kelly by the neck (karma) and stabbed her knife into her back.

Kelly gasped and fell, but Aubrey had to be sure she was down. She grabbed Kelly's hair and yanked it back, slicing her neck.

Aubrey dropped her when the cannon sounded and fell on the ground. She grabbed at her head and screamed a bit, trying to get the image of Kelly's surprised face out of her head.

After a few minutes of screaming, Aubrey picked herself up and grabbed her jugs, but they slipped out of her hands due to the bloodiness, and Aubrey held back tears.

She remembered what Josh had said before the training scores. Back then she hadn't thought about it, but after killing someone, she felt the affects. _"_ _We have to become murders. We have to kill people. Even if it is for survival, does that make it any better?_ _"_

It didn't make it any less hard to deal with.

Aubrey decided to stop wallowing in her feelings and get back to the tree.

She wiped the blood off of her hands on the ground and picked up her jugs, stored them in her pack, and picked up her knives. She put those back into their packs and stalked off without another glance at Kelly.

 _Kelly Marshall._

Back at the tree, Aubrey calmly took sips of water and waited for Josh to come back. She hoped the cannon going off hadn't scared him.

Aubrey looked down at her hands.

 _Murderer's hands._

She closed her eyes.

 _I'm sorry Kelly, Kelly's family._

Even if Kelly had tried to kill Aubrey first, she couldn't help but feel despicable. At the end of the day, Aubrey knew she had done what needed to be done. But she didn't feel better.

When Josh walked into the clearing an hour later carrying a stick with some animals on it, Aubrey almost burst into tears.

She ran towards him, tackling him into a hug.

Josh dropped his things and hugged her back.

"I was so worried . . . I thought it was you—"

Aubrey cut him off by shaking her head and squeezing him.

"I—It wasn't me. But it almost was."

Josh pulled back and grabbed her shoulders.

"What? Aubrey—"

"The girl from District Six—Kelly, she attacked me. I . . . I killed her. I'm a murderer."

Josh pulled her close and shook his head.

"No, you're not. She attacked you. If she had killed you, that would've made her a murderer. But you're not."

"I killed someone. That makes me a murderer."

"Aubrey, someday we'll all be murderers. When I kill someone, we'll be in the same boat. The Capitol is a murderer, not you. You had to kill her, you didn't have a choice. Don't beat yourself up about this like I know you will. Please."

Aubrey choked down a sob and nodded.

"Okay . . . okay. Well, I got water, and you got food. Let's get cooking."

Josh had managed to catch a two rabbits and a squirrel.

"Do you know how hard it is to hunt with a sword? Wish I had brought one of your knives."

"I do have one for animals."

"Amazing."

They couldn't eat the meat raw, so they decided to start a fire.

"Starting a fire is the best way to die in the arena, I know, but we don't have any other choice. Unless you feel like going back to the desert just to cook this."

Aubrey agreed, and they started a fire.

They made sure to cook it for as little time as possible, and they even went farther into the woods to make sure they couldn't be tracked.

They finished off half the rabbit and part of the squirrel and half of one of the jugs.

It was midday when they finished, and they didn't want to be in the same spot because of the fire.

"Our best bet is to find a tree for tonight."

"I've always wanted to sleep in a tree."

They packed up their stuff and headed off, going deeper into the forest.

They were nearing the cornucopia when Aubrey heard a weird sound, like the denting of metal.

She stopped walking and looked at Josh, mouthing, "Did you hear that?"

He nodded and they both hid behind a bush, peering into the clearing.

The cornucopia was there alright, and so were the Careers. They were laughing and throwing weapons at the surface, which was soft due to the afternoon sun.

All of the Careers had survived the Bloodbath, and they were all there.

All of them, including Andy!

He was sitting on the ground looking cautiously at the rest of the Careers.

One girl threw a knife at the ground, and it missed completely and hit a tree.

The guy from District Two laughed and said, "Yeah, Crystal, you should just stick to spears I think."

Crystal sneered and mocked him.

Andy mustered up a smile, but Aubrey knew he was uncomfortable.

"We all have things we're good at. Like, Gem is good at being stupid and I'm good at throwing tridents," Andy joked.

Gem glared at him and huffed. "Why did we beg you to join us again?"

"Because my amazing charms and along with Crystal's good looks will get us sponsors."

Crystal tilted her head.

"Are you hitting on me?"

Andy grinned.

"Maybe."

"You know I'm gay right?"

"Correct. We are in the same boat, except I'm not quite as gay."

Crystal shook her head and smiled.

"You'd better be glad you're funny."

"You think I'm funny?"

"Shut up!"

They all laughed, and for a moment, Aubrey felt worried that Andy had changed, but then the smile slid off his face and he continued to look at the ground with a guarded expression.

Aubrey knew he was a good actor, but not _that_ good.

Aubrey smirked at him, even though he couldn't see it, A plan already forming in her head.

 _Don't worry. We're coming._


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hellooo! I just got finished cleaning my room and I set the my desk with my computer (well, it's not actually mine it's the family's, yikes, I really need my own) and now I feel all organized. It's gr8. How are you doing? December is right around the corner, and then comes the holidays! Yes. Then the new year, 2017! Ah, yes, a year of telling myself I'm going to stick to my resolutions, and failing. We'll make it a good year, we will. Don't worry, my lovelies. I like to platonically call people babe and romantically call people dude. Is that weird? Also, can I use any more commas? Yes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, could.**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Allies, Allies, the More the Merrier**

Aubrey acted out the plan in her head without even hesitating. She knew she was being reckless and they could be potentially killed or caught for what she about about to do, but . . . well, yeah. There were risks and she would take them all, and deal with the consequences later.

She got up quietly and searched around for a tiny rock or a stick to throw. She found a rock about the size of an eye. It wasn't what she was looking for, but it was good enough. She walked back over to the bush and nervously twirled the rock around her fingers.

She could feel Josh staring at her intensely, probably guessing what she was about to do.

She picked up the rock and aimed it at the ground at Andy's feet. She knew if she missed they were dead, but she wouldn't miss. She _couldn't_ miss.

The rock hit the ground at Andy's feet, and Andy jumped five feet in the air.

"What's wrong with you? Crystal asked. "You look like you just got stabbed."

"Who got stabbed? Who got stabbed and didn't let me do it?" Jackson, the boy from Two, yelled, whipping his head around.

"No one got stabbed you idiot. Four is just being a wuss."

"I'm not being a—Whatever. I'm going to take a whiz, don't kill each other while I'm gone." He picked up his trident and walked away towards the clearing.

As soon as he left, the Careers started talking about if they really needed him, and Crystal was oddly defending him.

"Of course we need him! He's strong and he's not a bloodthirsty idiot like the rest of you!" She stormed off too, in the opposite direction of Andy.

The careers were silent and steaming. They stomped around and muttered angry to themselves like a pack of agitated bees.

Aubrey heard footsteps in their direction, and she peeked out from behind the bush to see Andy walking their way.

Aubrey was beyond excited to see him, and she opened her mouth to tell him so.

Andy shoved both of his hand over her face and shook his head.

"Not here," he whispered so softly Aubrey barely heard him. "They have ears like a pack of dogs, they'll hear us for sure."

Aubrey nodded slowly and looked toward Josh, silently telling him to get up.

She grabbed both of their arms and pulled them away, far away from the clearing and the Careers.

 **• • •**

Along the way Aubrey slammed into someone, falling back on the ground and having the air knocked out of her lungs.

"Who the—"

Aubrey looked up to see Crystal, holding a small spear and looking at Andy. Aubrey was glad she was wearing loose-fitting pants so she couldn't stare at her legs.

"What are you doing with them? I thought you were going to pee?"

"I thought you were storming around the forest?"

She rolled her green eyes, "Technically I still am. You're not, unless you like to pee in the company of others."

"You don't know what my kinks are."

"You—"

Aubrey cut her off.

"What are you doing here?"

Crystal turned her intense green eyes on her.

"What do you mean?"

Aubrey stood up and stared at her. "Shouldn't you be with the Careers? Aren't you going to tell on us?"

Crystal snorted.

"Tell on you. This isn't elementary school, even with all of the similarities." Aubrey raised an eyebrow at her. "School for Careers is basically running around with knives and killing each other. Just ask your friend here."

Aubrey shook her head. "You're not going to tell them? But . . . aren't you a Career?"

"We're not all stupid and cruel, if that's what you mean."

"I just . . ."

Crystal waved her hand. "It's whatever. They might be skilled fighters, but they're not all the brightest. I was fortunate to have been raised in a household where wisdom is honored more than strength."

Josh spoke for the first time. "You're not completely loyal to them, are you? You can see how barbaric they are, how they only form their alliances to make themselves stronger. You know they'd kill you in an instant if they knew one of theirs wasn't loyal. You stormed off to find Andy and warn them about their doubts on him because you know Andy could defeat the Careers. You don't care for the Careers."

Crystal tilted her head.

"Are all the quiet ones so smart?"

Josh straightened.

"I'm right."

"You are. But you left out a part; I may not care about the careers, I may not want them to win, or for them to kill me, but I _do_ care about Andy. Since both of us are children of Victor's, we've both been to the Capitol multiple times before, and I've known him since I was three. And that meathead from Two, but we were never close. Andy and I are like siblings and if you think for one moment that I only want to save him to benefit myself then you are wrong!"

"Join us." Aubrey blurted out, flushing slightly at how stupid she sounded.

Crystal smiled. "I would, but I can't. Once the Careers find out Andy has gone missing, they'll be very suspicious since we were closer than the others. If I go missing too then they'll go after me. And they _will_ find me. I have to stay and act indifferent, and pretend like I don't care either way. Once I throw them off my scent, I'll leave and find you guys. But only to keep Andy safe."

Aubrey smiled and said, "See you soon, Crystal. Farewell."

"I'm not going off to die or anything, don't be a silly goose."

"I couldn't be a goose even if I wanted to. Geese honk too much for me, and I like to keep my honking to a daily limit."

Crystal smiled brightly, her smile seeming to light up the whole forest.

"You know, I think I like you. Stay alive for me, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart?"

"Bye!"

Crystal walked off with a wave and disappeared.

Andy shook his head.

"She never changes."

Aubrey threw herself at Andy, and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"You're back! You're really back."

Andy chuckled lightly and fingered her hair. "I never left."

Aubrey pushed him away and punched him on the shoulder.

"You never told me you knew Crystal! And that you were absolutely _insane_!"

He shrugged. "It didn't really seem important at the time. And you know I've never been completely sane."

"Not important!? You make me so angry sometimes I wonder why I even want you around."

"Then you take a look at me and remember."

Aubrey swore smoke was coming out of her ears.

"Whatever. All that matters is you're here, you're here and you're here. You're here."

"I think you forgot to mention that I'm here."

Aubrey ignored him.

"Josh, where are we camping?"

Josh looked startled, pulling his eyes away from Andy after watching them bicker.

"Um, in a tree."

"You don't sound sure."

"In a tree!"

"Better."

She ushered him along.

"Well? You think a tree is just going to pop up and suggest we sleep on it? This isn't a street corner, get moving."

Josh lead them through the forest, all of their eyes alert and ready for anything.

Anything but what happened next.

After a few minutes of walking, Aubrey felt like the ground was a little . . . squishy under her feet. Every time she walked she heard a loud _plop!_ as she pulled her foot up.

"Um, guys?" she asked, not sure how to propose her thoughts.

"Hm?" Josh answered absentmindedly, like his thoughts were a million miles away.

"Does the ground feel erm, _squishy_ to anyone else?"

"Squishy?" Andy asked incredulously. He stopped walking to look at her. "Why would it be—"

He was cut off by a small scream when he started walking again and tripped due to the fact that his foot had sunk three inches underground.

"'Why would it be squishy'."

"Shut up."

Andy pulled his hand up from the ground and came away with mud, dark, sticky mud. Aubrey helped him up.

She heard Josh curse and scrape some mud off of his leg.

"Guys, we're in quite a sticky situation. No pun inten—who am I kidding, that was a magnificent pun and I meant it."

"We're also about to be swallowed by the Earth, if you haven't noticed!" Aubrey threw her hands in the air and moved around lightly to keep herself from sinking.

"It's pretty hard not to—"

"Let's find a tree and wait until this," she waved her hand around, "whatever this is, is over. Okay? Okay."

They walked lightly over the ground, occasionally stumbling and sinking. It was like every tree had disappeared.

"Okay," Andy said, tripping over a stick and putting out his arms, "I know it seemed like a good idea earlier, but there are no trees. We could stop—"

"Stop if you want to die, Haiku."

"It's actually Limerick—"

"I don't care, Sonnet."

"That's not even close—"

"There's a tree!" Josh suddenly shouted, running towards it and then tripping over himself. Aubrey and Andy ran over to help him up.

They all stumbled towards the tree, grabbing onto its branches and pulling themselves up. They only went up a few feet, and they had to help Andy up.

"I'm sorry I don't spend my free time trying to be a squirrel," he said annoyedly as he blew his hair out of his face.

When they were all on the tree and situated, Aubrey took the time to scrape the mud off of her.

"Was that quick sand? I've only seen it once four years ago when they made the whole arena out of it and everyone suffocated in less than a week," Aubrey said, brushing her hands off.

Josh snapped his fingers just to have something to do.

"That year was a popular one."

"I bet."

Aubrey sighed and looked out into the forest. The whole day had been a mess. She had been in intense pain due to the acid rain, felt the effects of dehydration, killed a girl, found the Careers and rescued Andy, and possibly have added another ally to their list. Maybe the whole day wasn't bad, but the majority of it had left Aubrey with a pounding headache and a fragile mind.

After awhile, the ground seemed to harden up again.

After making sure, they climbed down and unpacked the stuff they needed to sleep and eat, then packed up the rest and climbed the tree a lot higher than last time.

Aubrey rolled out the sleeping bag while Josh handed out some of the rabbit and water. Andy seemed grateful for everything, even if he had more benefits being with the Careers. They were loaded with supplies and weapons, after all.

Night was quickly approaching, and they all stared at the sky for the anthem. It showed only the face of Kelly Marshall. Aubrey felt her stomach clench and she felt Josh take her hand lightly. She smiled a bit, even if it looked more like a grimace.

After the anthem, Aubrey and Andy settled down for the night. Josh would take first watch, then Aubrey, and Andy last.

Aubrey fell asleep easily, eager to erase the memories of the day for a short time.

She took watch when Josh woke her up. Nothing much happened, though she noticed a lot of animals running away, towards the cornucopia. She thought it was weird, but she didn't find anything when she got down to look. She noticed the ground was kind of soft again, but not the way it was before. It was soft and warm, like the top of a hot spring.

Aubrey dismissed her thoughts, telling herself it was just the quicksand.

As she was walking back to the tree, she kicked up a bit of dirt. It crumbled, and Aubrey swore she had seen a flash of red before dirt covered it.

She shook her head and climbed back up the tree, waking Andy for his shift. She was sure she was just hallucinating.

She woke up to Andy yelling and shaking them awake.

"Get up! Get up, goddamn it!"

Aubrey flew up, untangling herself from the sleeping bag that had become warm and sweaty from the intense heat coming from the ground.

"What—"

Andy pointed at the ground, and Aubrey's breath hitched in her chest.

The forest floor was glowing red and bubbling, turned into a pit of steaming lava.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **Hello people! It's 2017! Ahhh! I swear when the clock changed the wind changed too! I have so many things I want to do this year, and I know I can (be what I wanna be if I work real hard . . . sorry, I couldn't resist the song moment)! With the changing of the Hollywood sign to Hollyweed, you can already tell this year is going to be lit. Enjoy the first chapter of 2017 (I had to change this from 2016 :). This one was a doozie to write, and idk if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Well, enjoy!**

 **Chapter Twenty Four: Dear Mr. Jealous**

Aubrey wanted to faceplant. Out of everything the Capital could throw at them, they decided to make her childhood game real?

Andy was nervously running his fingers through his hair, trying desperately to find a solution while Josh was attempting to pretend nothing was happening. He had his eyes closed and was whispering something about "If you can believe it you can do it."

Aubrey was glad they had the sense to leave a bit of space around the tree open so the tree wouldn't sink in the lava and kill them in a boring way. No one wants to die like an average Joe.

"Alright, alright, calm down," Andy said. "We can get out; there's a simple solution to this I'm sure."

Josh was still mumbling with his eyes closed, and Aubrey was looking over the edge of the tree branch.

Aubrey considered jumping into the fire for a second. The others could use her body as a stepping stone to get away.

She dismissed the thought; it was silly. Her body could never hold their weight.

She wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

 _Hm, stepping stones . . ._

Aubrey looked around for moment, trying to spot any open rocks or a sturdy pile of leaves.

She saw a few big sticks lying suspiciously a few feet away from the bottom of the tree, and a pile of small rocks a few feet away from that.

"Guys, I think I found that simple solution."

"Yes, I've found it to."

Aubrey was surprised. He wasn't even looking at the ground.

"You have? Well I guess we're on the same page then."

"We go to the base of the tree, run as fast as we can and try to jump over the lava pit. If we fall in, we die, but if we don't, we're lucky."

Aubrey's mouth was hanging open. That was definitely _not_ her plan.

"No . . . I was going to say we could jump to the sticks and rocks on the ground and keep going from there."

Andy blushed.

"Oh, yeah. That too."

Josh had opened his eyes and was staring at Aubrey, waiting for her to give the command.

"Alright, so you see those rocks? And those sticks?" they nodded. "So we'll climb down the tree and jump onto them. they're a bit far apart but not too far to miss them. After the second jump, we'll be able to jump onto dry land and get away."

Andy peered over the side of the tree. "I don't know, they look kinda far apart . . . I've never been much of a jumper. Any advice?"

"Don't die. That's good enough."

He twitched. "Sure."

They climbed down the tree carefully, making sure to hold on to the trunk tightly.

Once they hit the ground, Aubrey volunteered to go first. If she didn't make it, she was sure they could find another way. She would rather it be her than them.

She closed her eyes for a second and set her sights on the pile of sticks.

 _Now or never._

She jumped as far as she could, landing smack in the middle of the pile, almost slipping and losing her balance, but she righted herself.

"Well?" she turned around, looking at their shocked faces. "We don't have all day."

Andy shook his head and grinned, jumping next, knocking into Aubrey and making them both fall.

"Oh, great job." Aubrey pulled a leaf out of her mouth and glared at him.

"Uh, too much force?"

She rolled her eyes and stood up, noticing the room running out.

"We should go to the next one before Josh jumps. If we don't, we'll all fall in and die, and that's the one thing I told you not to do."

They quickly jumped to the next pile, their feet pushing a few rocks into the lava. The lava bubbled and shot up into the air all around them, obscuring everything from their view.

Aubrey wasn't sure what happened next. She had closed her eyes and all she heard was screaming (which was definitely _not_ her, haha). She could feel tiny flecks of lava burning into her skin like bullets through paper.

After the shower died down, Aubrey gasped and flew up. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn't breathe.

"What . . . what was that?"

Lava was everywhere, including the pile of sticks that Josh was currently standing on.

"We need to jump now, before the sticks melt away and Josh can't jump!"

Aubrey prepared herself to jump, still burning from the lava.

She just barely made it, her foot skimming the edge of the ground. Andy jumped right after her, but he wasn't so lucky. His foot slipped, and he used his hand instinctively to catch himself, slamming them right down into the lava.

He screamed in agony and pulled himself up, wiping his hands on the ground and breathing hard.

Aubrey scrambled up and ran to him, grabbing his hands to check them out.

They were red and burning, blisters already forming all over. Andy was freaking out, biting his lip so he wouldn't scream.

Aubrey took a big leaf and wiped the little bit of lava left off, letting it go quickly as it disintegrated in front of her.

She hugged Andy, closing her eyes and letting herself breathe for the first time in days.

Josh landed soundly beside them, reaching into the packs for what she assumed was the burn cream from the acid rain.

Aubrey let him go softly, sitting him down gently and grabbing his wrists so she could apply the cream.

Josh handed it to her, and she spread it softly against his burned hands.

He sighed quietly, closing his eyes for a second before opening them and staring at Aubrey.

She was once again reminded of how beautiful they were, in all of their gold glory. She would never get tired of staring into his golden orbs, and she'd never see anything like them again.

She briefly thought of the phonecall with Zane.

 _"Yes. You and that boy—Sandwich?"_

 _Aubrey sighed. "I know you know his name. It's Andy—Andrew. And why are you talking about us—not that there is an us?"_

 _Zane started to get angry, and Aubrey could hear it in his voice._

 _"Andy, a nickname? You two seem a little buddy-buddy, don't you?"_

It's not like she was attracted to him. He was very handsome, more beautiful and elegant than anything she'd ever seen, but that was just a fact. She could appreciate his beauty like everyone else, but that didn't mean she wanted him. And in a few days, there wouldn't _be_ a them to exist anyway. Just like how there wasn't a Zane and Aubrey after that call.

Aubrey leaned her head on his chest, still holding his hands and sighed. She had been trying to think of the positives instead of the negatives, but there weren't many. She was very glad she had met Andy and Josh, and she wouldn't change it for anything, but it was stressful knowing that in a few days one of them could be dead. And it was worse, knowing that both of them wanted to give their life to save her's. She was just a girl, just a small person in a sea of people. But Andy, he was the shining star. He was everything—handsome, polite, funny, charming, so kind and caring . . . he deserved to go home the most out of all of them. But she knew he wouldn't have it. If there was any chance that he could make it out, she would've done anything to get it. She would march to the Capital and burn it all down to let them all go home. There were so many kind, bright souls in the arena, and it hurt to see them all go to waste.

Andy gently pried her hands away and wrapped his arms around her, reassuring her without words.

Aubrey let herself relax, having a bad feeling that this would be one of the last relaxing moments they had together.

 **• • •**

They spent the rest of the morning walking further into the forest, trying to find a safe place. After waking up to lava, none of them were eager to be caught in another situation like that again.

Hours of slashing through plants and tripping over random weeds, they found a suspiciously empty clearing. There were two trees on opposite ends of the clearing, one of them containing big, fluffy branches, and a thick trunk, almost like someone had bred the tree for someone to sleep on. The other tree was a normal tree, with a few branches that would probably hold their weight.

"Looks like we found our home for the night," Andy said, walking towards the fluffy tree.

Aubrey grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Are you insane?! That tree looks like it's on steroids. If we sleep in that, we'll never wake up again."

"What's wrong with it? It's perfect!"

Josh shook his head. "That's the point. A little _too_ perfect. don't you think?" He picked a decent sized rock and threw it at the top of the three. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and Andy snorted.

"See? Nothing wrong at all—"

The sound of a huge roar cut him off, turning his face pale.

Hundreds of excessively large squirrels barreled out of the tree, showing their stuffed, angry faces.

"That's not exactly nothing, wouldn't you say?"

Andy slowly shook his head and headed towards the other tree. "Yep, we'll never sleep comfortably here, I get it. It's fine, I always liked having bark cut into my back at three A.M. and almost falling to my death every three seconds. Totally cool."

Aubrey shook her head at him and touched the tree She didn't see any rabid animals or hidden traps, so that was fortunate.

It was only early afternoon, and they still had lots of time to kill, no pun intended.

They sat in a triangle, debating what to do.

"We could go hunting. We don't have much food left, and it'll be pretty much spoiled by now," Josh pointed out.

While she knew this was true, Aubrey really didn't feel like getting attacked at another stream. "We could just walk around a bit, stretch, practice using our weapons."

Andy's suggestion was the weirdest of them all.

"We could chop down trees and make a huge fort, and just camp out there for the rest of the time here."

". . . Yeah so it's either mine or Aubrey's for sure."

"Unfair," Andy pouted and crossed his arms.

Aubrey laughed and ruffled his hair, content with just lying there all day.

In the end, they decided to do a mix and add in some things. Josh would go hunt to eat in later days, and Andy and Aubrey would go together so Andy could fish and she could collect water. They would wash up there, and Josh would join them later so he could too.

"Alright, same rules apply." Josh picked up his supplies, taking one of Aubrey's knives (this one made for hunting). "Under no circumstances are one of you allowed to die. If you do, I will personally kill you."

"And the logic there is astounding, truly."

Josh rolled his eyes at her and even though he was joking, she could tell he was being partly serious. But with the two of them together, he knew they would be alright.

After walking silently for a few minutes, Andy broke the silence.

"I missed you, you know."

Aubrey looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Really? I had thought you were getting along well with the Careers."

He laughed a humorless laugh, shaking his head. "No. They're all idiots, brainwashed killers. All of 'em except Crystal. No one could ever brainwash her, anyway."

"What is the history between you two anyway? I never knew you guys knew each other like that."

He smiled a bit, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Well, everything she said was true. We both grew up with a Victor parent, being shown off everywhere at every opportunity. The Capital adored us both, naming us the babies of the century. Our parents never really cared about us much though, so we always ended up in a daycare. But no ordinary daycare. A daycare worthy of holding only the finest kids.

"Bullshit, all those kids were insane, well, except Crystal. She was so down to earth that I couldn't not talk to her. We soon became friends, best friends, even, but then we grew up. And we didn't need daycare anymore. We would sit in separate hotels for days, even weeks, bored out of our minds while our parents were out partying and completing tasks. Leaving the building was strictly forbidden, and none of us even tried once we saw the security teams guarding outside. I didn't see her much after that, or that bambo from Two. Then we stopped going to the Capital all together, and it's been a few years. It's been nice rekindling though."

Aubrey smiled a little bit. "You sound like you like her."

He grinned wildly.

"I did, for a long time. But then I saw her make out with this girl at this Capital party, and I knew it'd never happen. I got over it, and now we're like, totally BCFFL's. Best Career friends for life!"

Aubrey laughed, glad he was able to joke about it.

"That's great. I never knew it was legal to take kids from the districts to the Capital."

"Not if they love you. And enough about me, you know you have some explaining to do. You never did tell me how you met Zane, or Josh, and why he acts like your brother. I think it's sweet, but it gets a little weird having to compete to be the mom friend. Spill."

Aubrey laughed, trying to think of a way to put it. She knew talking about Zane would hurt, but it would help.

"Well, it's kind of a long story, so I'll sum it up. So I was having a horrible day, and I uh, bumped into Zane. We talked for a bit and became friends. A little while later, he confessed his love for me and we dated. Actually, it was the day before the Reaping. I met Josh through him, and it was kinda weird. At first, Josh was this serious, sarcastic little shit, but then he became more. He started to become happier, and we could all see. He got really protective of me, and even though he doesn't want to admit it himself, I know he really cares about me. And I care about him."

"You're in love with him? In love with your boyfriend's brother . . . Heard that one before. Had that _happen_ before. It was awkward because they were both really hot and he hated me but—"

"I am not in love with him! He's like . . . my brother. But not my boyfriend's brother, or whatever." She paused for a second. "Did he really hate you?"

"Yes! He had this sweeping brown hair I could die for, and these intense hazel eyes . . . I could go on for days! But he thought I was stuck up because of my childhood so he hated me, and my boyfriend at the time had no idea. There was this one time when I invited them over for dinner and I accidently said "can you pass the salt, babe?" to him instead of my boyfriend . . . yeah, let's just say we didn't last long after that. But it was cool because I discovered he had a sister with these green eyes. . ."

Aubrey cut him off with a laugh.

"What? I'm a sucker for beautiful eyes. That's why I find you so intriguing." She raised an eyebrow at him. "But I'm not attracted to you or anything. I mean, you're very beautiful, but you're more of my crazy friend who encourages me to do bad things when I shouldn't."

She laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, if only you could convince my boyfriend that. He fully thinks you're in love with me, Mr. Jealous to the max."

"I could see why, we would make a devilishly handsome couple. But he should really be watching out for Crystal. I saw the way she was looking at you earlier."

Aubrey's eyebrows shot up. She was really beautiful. And those legs . . .

"Really? I mean, she is quite the catch, but I'm not really looking for anything right now."

Andy gave her a knowing look. "Alright. But Crystal is a seducer, and she usually gets what she wants. And she wants you. But Aubrey's boyfriend, if you're watching this, man up! Dear Mr. Jealous, you're wasting so much time, because Aubrey is great and she'd never cheat, and she's just a friend to me. Stop being a douche—"

"Okay! That's enough talking to him, I think. Now let's go get this water before the sun goes down."

Andy smiled at her, and she knew even if things were about to come crashing down, these moments were worth it.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**The Living Games**

 **A/N** **There's not much to say today, so I'll get right into it! Enjoy this chapter and may your heart be okay afterwards, I know mine sure wasn't.**

 **Chapter Twenty Five: Your Time has Come**

Aubrey lied her head down on the soft grass, looking up into the dark sky.

The anthem had just ended, and once again, no one had died. The only death was yesterday, which was the girl from Three. It was shaping up to be a boring three days, and if your experience in the arena could be described as boring, something was wrong. So when things went to shit, she wasn't surprised.

They had all bathed and hydrated two days ago, and Andy's burn was pretty much gone. They hadn't encountered the Careers once, which was suspicious, but they didn't worry too much about it.

Which is where they went wrong.

But we'll get to that later.

A soft breeze was blowing through the forest, giving the perfect illusion of a calm night. Like the calm before the storm.

She was on watch duty with Josh was fast asleep, and Andy was tossing and turning. He had been having bad feelings ever since that day at the river, but he had no explanation for why.

 _Andy laughed. "Just some bad mojo, ya know?"_

Aubrey had laughed at the time, but now that she had been thinking about it and getting more paranoid, things started to seem more real.

She knew for sure that the gamemakers were planning something, either that or the Careers were. They wouldn't stir up anything if someone else was already on it, someone else like another tribute.

It was the first time she had really thought about one of them dying, one of them truly dying. It was always in the back of her mind, but she tried not to think about it. Why cause yourself pain about something that might not even happen? She could die before either of them, anything was possible at that point.

She sat up against the tree and touched it. It wasn't magical or anything, it was just real. She needed a link to reality, a reminder that the games weren't just child's play. Maybe she had been thinking that for too long, and it was time to put her gloves on.

 **• • •**

Well, she got what she asked for. Maybe they read her mind, maybe they just had enough of waiting.

Either way, when they ran into Gem, they knew it was about to go down.

Gem was the boy from District One, the one who could throw a spear as far as he could a seduce a crowd.

And where one Career goes, the rest follow.

So when Baronialia, Jackson, and Layla showed up, AKA the Careers, All their weapons had already been pulled out.

Josh had his sword, Andy had his trident/spear thing, and Aubrey had her knives.

It was obvious that Crystal was missing, and due to the angered look on their faces, she had gotten away and caused some trouble in the mix of it. Gem had turned and ran into the woods, and no one seemed surprised.

Jackson smirked. "Twelve. Oh, have I been waiting for you two. I never did get to your district during the interviews, did I? Well, I'll try to follow it through the best I—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Shut it already and grab the brat!" Baronialia snarled, then grinned. "We're gonna make him pay."

Andy's face had gone from calm to cautious, but his smartass-ness hadn't left him.

"Pay for what? Dinner? 'Cause you haven't even asked yet."

Baronialia screamed in rage (seriously, take a chill pill) and rushed him. That seemed to spark the others, and Jackson darted towards Josh, leaving Aubrey with Layla.

Now, Aubrey didn't know much about Layla. All she remembered was her flirty attitude and her high training score. But she didn't look so flirty now wielding her twin daggers.

She smiled brightly and confidently. "Knife against knife, eh? But we'll see who's put in more work."

With that she swung at her, one dagger high and other other one left to block.

Aubrey danced out of the way easily, meeting her dagger with her long knife.

"Not too bad for an ametaur, eh?"

Aubrey huffed, blocking another sideways swipe.

"How about we talk less and fight more?" she said, backing up a little. "I'm not sure you can handle multitasking."

Layla glared daggers (eh?) and slapped her across the face.

Aubrey stumbled back, surprised.

She had expected her to stab her, not slap her! What kind of Career _does_ that?

Aubrey growled and switched from defense to offense. She was _not_ down to get slapped again.

Layla was meeting every one of her blows, spinning around and laughing like she was playing a game on the lowest setting.

One thing about Layla that set her apart from the other was her long hair. It was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and it whipped Aubrey in the face every time she turned.

And she was getting tired of it.

The next time Layla blocked her strike, Aubrey feinted a sidestep and when Layla, sure enough, spun around, she cut off her ponytail at the root.

It fell on the ground, in all of its dead red glory.

Layla gasped and grabbed the stump, feeling the uneven strands.

Aubrey swore she saw her eyes get watery.

"You BITCH! I've been growing this hair out for THREE years!"

Layla looked so angry her eyes seemed to be glowing.

"Now you've done it!"

Layla took in a deep breath and gripped her two daggers, swinging both of them at the speed of light. Aubrey could barely keep up with her, getting cuts and scratches from each strike.

Layla grabbed her by the hair and held a knife up to her neck, her back against her chest.

"You are going to pay for what you've done! What should I cut off first, your hair or your head?!"

Aubrey gasped, elbowing her, but getting kicked in response.

"Don't even bother struggling, I'm a trained professional, that other girl, what was her name? Kiddy? Well, she was trash. Couldn't even hold her ax right, A shame, too. She could've been something. Something like my footstool!"

Aubrey narrowed her eyes.

"How did you know about Kelly?"

She laughed. "Well, who do you think sent her? A gift from mwa!"

Aubrey scowled, starting to feel herself shake from her anger.

"You mean you sent her to kill me, knowing full well she would die?"

Layla laughed.

"Of course. How else would I have gotten rid of her? Her purpose was fulfilled, and she was just taking up space. And so are you."

Aubrey's fingers curled into fists.

How . . . how dare she! She had been tripping over killing Kelly for so long for no reason? She was done, and she wasn't dying today.

Aubrey smirked her ass off and grabbed Layla's hand.

"So are you!"

She spun her around and slammed her against the ground, grabbing her daggers and throwing them far away.

Layla gasped and flipped them over until they rolled on the ground, struggling for control.

Aubrey stabbed her long knife into the ground, stopping them and getting on top of Layla.

Before Aubrey could stab her, she felt her weight leaving the ground and being thrown backwards.

She rolled on the ground before knocking into Josh, who was jumping up.

She grabbed her head and gasped when she saw the blood covering it.

 _Where did that come from?_

Jackson was smirking and helping Layla up.

Josh stood up and ran over to Aubrey, his eyes scanning her head.

"What happened to you?"

She grunted when he touched it, swatting away his hand.

"I don't know, and we don't have time to figure out. I think it's time to switch anyway."

Layla had grabbed her daggers and Josh swung at her, and she met it with both daggers forming an x.

Jackson grinned at her and motioned with his hand for her to come forward.

She sneered at him. "What, do you ever stop smirking?"

"Not when there's nothing to be worried about around."

Ouch.

"You won't be smirking for long."

He smirked even wider. "That's not what I got when I grabbed you with one hand. You should really gain some weight, you're quite light."

"Shut the fuck up!"

Jackson met her thrust with ease, swatting her away with his two-balled mace.

 _Why is it always the goddamn mace?!_

Aubrey knew two things: With his regular mace, he wouldn't be able to have the reach of a chain mace, and he would have better control over it. But he was also at a disadvantage because he couldn't slice her unless the spikes got to close, which she had no intention of letting happen.

They exchanged blows back and forth, neither of them able to hit the other. Unlike with Layla, he wasn't as fast and fierce. He didn't move as quickly because of his towering size, and he wasn't as nimble. But he was strong and he had power behind his blows.

Aubrey knew it was going downhill when he managed to knock her shorter knife out of her hand, leaving her with the longer one.

She was able to use more force with one knife, but she wasn't as fast, and he was starting to gain ground when he started to knick her.

She was starting to tire after fighting two Careers, and Jackass—erm, _Jackson_ was taking advantage of that. He kicked her feet out from under her and pinned her down, his black eyes looking as evil as they ever had.

"You know, I was originally planning to burn you and Idiot over there alive, but since we're a little bit uh, _held up_ at the moment, I think I'll settle for the next best thing."

Aubrey gulped.

"And what might that be?"

"Decapitation."

"Alright then."

Well, at least he wasn't one to cut around the bush.

Jackson pried her knife out of her hands and licked it (gross), wiping it on his shirt.

"You . . . you know there's blood all over that, right?"

He grinned, looking insane.

"Yes, that's the point."

It was then that Aubrey realized how fucking out of his mind he was. It was also that moment that she realized her short knife was right next her her head.

Jackson was cleaning the knife off on his shirt, and while he was distracted, Aubrey grabbed the knife and used all of her remaining strength to flip them over.

He slammed against the ground with a surprised grunt, obviously very confused as to how the hell she did that.

What could she say? She had lots of practice flipping Zane over.

She shoved that out of her mind and simultaneously stabbed him in the stomach with the short knife while grabbing the longer one from his loose hand and stabbing him with that one too.

He gasped and coughed blood for a second, glaring down at her and trying to grab her, but going still as the strength slowly left his body.

Aubrey didn't feel as bad when the cannon went off for him.

She stood up and looked at Josh. He was doing fine battling Layla, even managing to give her a few deep cuts.

Then she heard it.

A scream.

Andy's scream.

Aubrey's stomach pulsed and she looked over to him, forgetting all about him fighting Baronialia.

Baronialia had stabbed him through the stomach with her ax, and it was so bad it had gone through to the handle.

Andy screamed and slid off the ax, falling to the ground at her feet, his wound pouring blood.

Aubrey wasn't sure what happened next. All she could see was the blurry world through her tears and anger. She heard a scream, not sure if it was hers or Andy's. She found herself in front of Andy, blocking him. Baronialia had been going in for another strike, but was met with both swords of Aubrey. She looked surprised, clearly not expecting her to move that fast.

But all of Aubrey's strength had left her. Her arms were shaking underneath Baronialia long blade, and she was barely pressing at all.

Aubrey went from sad to mad so fast she couldn't even document what happened. Some unknown strength had come from within her and and she was throwing blows and swings at Baronialia so fast she couldn't even handle them. Baronialia was trying her best, but even with all of her training, she couldn't guard against Aubrey's anger and pent up emotion. All of the fear from the past three weeks and all of her anger at the Capital and Zane and everyone just came pouring out of her and into her blade.

She struck Baronialia again and again, still swiping at her even when she was down and the cannon had gone off and there was blood everywhere and she couldn't see and there was just _so much red . . ._

 _Andy._

Aubrey scrambled up and slipped back down, staring at her blood covered everything. She couldn't even feel any emotion towards what she had just done.

All that mattered was Andy.

Andy was coughing so hard he was shaking, and more blood was pouring out.

Upon seeing him, she knew he was going to die. The cut was so long that it went from his collarbone to his hip bone. His eyes, his beautiful, golden eyes, were dull and pale. His skin, his beautiful, glowing skin, was bloodless and cold. His warm hands were clammy and senseless.

Andy looked at Aubrey, really looked at her. He grabbed her hand weakly, trying so hard to escape the darkness surrounding him.

"I . . ."

Aubrey gripped him hard, tears falling out of her eyes in streams and turning all of the blood on them pink.

"I . . . I don't regret anything. I'd—" he started coughing again, looking even more pale. "I'd go to the end of the world to protect you. Stay alive more me, win for _me_."

He took one more look at the sky, the beautiful blue sky, catching one glimpse of the real horizon before his eyes glossed over forever.

Aubrey shook him, begging him to answer her. Even when the cannon went off for a third time that day, even when Josh came over to her, even when Layla had left, even when the cannon went off for a fourth time, even when Crystal came out of nowhere, even when Josh picked her up and moved her so the hovercrafts could pick the bodies up, she still didn't say a word.


End file.
